The Ruth Cornwall Woodman Papers include radio and television scripts for "Death Valley Days," and other television scripts and
miscellaneous papers, 1914-1916, 1930-1969. The collection includes scripts and associated material for 204 "Death Valley Days" radio and television programs,
an index to the scripts, notebooks from summer research trips, and correspondence with Death Valley acquaintances. There is also research data and a draft for
The History of the Pacific Coast Borax Company, which was published in greatly reduced form. Correspondence includes copies of
forty-six letters written from Vassar College, 1914-1916, and correspondence with agents and publishers.
Repository:
University of Oregon Libraries
Special Collections & University Archives
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment
for the Humanities.
Biographical Note
Ruth Cornwall Woodman was born on November 26, 1894 and raised in England. She received a degree from Vassar in 1916 and was part of Phi
Beta Kappa. Her first job was with the Century Company, as secretary to the editor of St. Nicholas Magazine, whose position she expected to take over
within a short time. When Ruth learned that several employees who had been with the company for over thirty years expected to receive the position,
she looked for other work. This search landed her in Turkey, where she worked with an American organization on a survey of Constantinople after World
War I. Spending the winter of 1921-22 in Constantinople, she taught English to refugee boys and served as amanuensis to the head of the Language
School for missionaries in Scutari. Ruth Woodman traveled from Constantinople to Egypt, India, and China before returning to New York City.
Woodman's first article about Turkey appeared in the New York Times Magazine Section, from which she made forty
dollars. A vice president of the H. K. McCann advertising agency read it and offered her a job with the company as copywriter. She wrote magazine and
newspaper copy for five years. In 1928, she began writing for radio, turning out scripts for DuPont's "Calvalcade of America" and Bob Ripley's
"Believe It Or Not."
"Death Valley Days," true stories of the West, began on September 30, 1930 and Woodman was selected as its writer. The program's sponsor,
Pacific Coast Borax Company, stipulated that the writer should have a first-hand knowledge of the Death Valley region and for fourteen years, as the
radio program ran until July of 1945, Woodman made summer excursions to Death valley to gather material. Her first trip was in a Model A Ford, where
she gathered interviews from people in Death Valley and research local newspaper files. She was accompanied by W. W. (Wash) Cahill, an employee of
the company and an expert on the desert. The majority of her story material came from interviews with old-timers and from the files of mining camp
newspapers.
The series was renamed "Death Valley Sheriff," airing from August 10, 1944 to June 21, 1945. The name was then changed to "The Sheriff" and
aired from June 29, 1945 to September 14, 1951. After this point, the series aired in reruns under different titles, including "Call of the West,"
Frontier Adventure," "The Pioneers," "Trails West," and "Western Star Theatre."
In 1952, the "Death Valley Days," radio series had proved so successful that in 1952, the sponsor asked Woodman to adapt the stories for
television. Woodman wrote all of the television plays for five years. When the series opened up to other writers, Woodman served as story editor, and
continued to write scripts for the series. "Death Valley Days" won awards from the Governors of California, Nevada, and Utah and historical societies
including the Native Daughters of the Golden West, and from the University of Washington. In 1961, Woodman received the Western Heritage Award for
the best Western Documentary of the year.
During her career with "Death Valley Days," Woodman continued to write for other radio programs, including "Dr. Christian," Suspense," and
"Armstrong Theatre of Today." She also continued to write for print media and sold articles to The New Yorker and
Reader's Digest about people and places she was familiar with.
Ruth Cornwall married William E. Woodman and lived most of her life in Rye, New York. She had two children, William Jr. and Winthrop. The
family made several trips to Europe. In October of 1961, Woodman moved away from Hollywood to Europe and lived there for a year. She kept notebooks
of her travels, writing mostly about Turkey. Ruth Woodman died on April 22, 1970 at the age of 75 in Santa Monica, California.
Content Description
The Ruth Cornwall Woodman collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, and miscellaneous material. Topics include Vassar college,
European travels, radio scripts, television scripts, and the Pacific Coast Borax Company.
Series I. Correspondence includes personal and business letters. There is a section of letters from the Pacific Coast Borax Company. Copies
of forty-six letters from Ruth Woodman to her family while she attended Vassar, and 142 letters from her son are included in the collection.
Series II. Manuscripts is composed of five subseries. The subseries of book length material includes research material, correspondence, and
manuscripts on the Pacific Coast Borax Company and her travels to Turkey. The travel book on Turkey was not published. The subseries of plays
includes "If Walls Could Speak." The subseries of screenplays includes "Last of the Pony Express." The subseries of radio and television includes
"Armstrong Circle Theatre," "Man Talk," "Death Valley Days," "Romance of American Industry," and "The Honor of Your Presence." The subseries on
article length material includes two folders of articles.
The "Death Valley Days" material comprises the bulk of the collection. This subseries is arranged chronologically by radio script date, with
the television scripts and research material for a related radio script in the same folder as the original radio script date. All but two of the
"Death Valley days" television scripts in the collection are revisions of earlier radio plays. The "Death Valley days" material in the collection
includes twenty-nine notebooks from the summer trips, five folder of research material, a bound index of the radio scripts, correspondence from the
Death Valley acquaintances, and seventy-two folders of scripts and associated material from 204 radio and television programs.
Ruth Woodman's commissioned history of the Pacific Coast Borax Company is also part of the collection. While it was published in a much
reduced form, the materials in the collection includes research materials, company correspondence, and a rough draft. These materials are of interest
because of the close relationship between the company and "Death Valley Days."
Series III. Miscellaneous includes one folder of newspaper clippings and articles, Woodman's 1913 diary from Vassar College, and two volumes
of True Stories from Death Valley Days.
Use of the Collection
Alternative Forms Available :
Collection is also available on microfilm in Special Collections & University Archives.
Restrictions on Access :
Collection is open to the public.
Collection must be used in Special Collections & University Archives Reading Room.
Restrictions on Use :
Property rights reside with Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the
creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to the Manuscripts
Librarian in Special Collections & University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation :
[Identification of item], Ruth Cornwall Woodman Papers, Ax 690, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon
Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
Collection is organized into the following series: Series I. Correspondence; Series II. Manuscripts; Series III. Miscellaneous.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Mimeographed draft. Bound. Chapter 5-18 in outline form. Copyright by McCann-Erickson, Inc.
1937
1
7
Research Material
1
8
Research Material
1
9
Research Material
1
10
Research Material
1
11
Correspondence with Company regarding history
1
12
Research Material
1
13
Research Material
1
14
Outline (typed and carbon)
40 pages
Pacific Coast Borax History
Manuscript
Box
Folder
1
15
Chapter I: The Discovery at Teel's Marsh
1
16
Chapter II: History of Boray, Prior to Teel's Marsh Discovery
1
17
Chapter III: The Nevada Marsh Operations, 1872-1888
1
18
Chapter IV: Death Valley, 1880-1888
1
19
Chapter V: The Twenty Mule Teams
1
20
Chapter VI: The Scene Shifts
1
21
Chapter VII: The Camp at Borate
1
22
Chapter VIII: The Gay and Busy '90s
1
23
Chapter IX: The Building of the T and T Railroad
1
24
Chapter X: The Lila C
1
25
Chapter XI: Bayonne
1
26
Chapter XII: The Sterling Borax Company-Lang
1
27
Chapter XIII: Smith's Failure
1
28
Chapter XIV: New Ryan
1
29
Chapter XV: Death Valley Junction
1
30
Chapter XVI: Suckow Chemical Company
1
31
Chapter XVII: Borosolvay
1
32
Chapter XVIII: White Basin
1
33
Chapter XIX: More Mines and Less
1
34
Chapter XX: Wilmington
1
35
Chapter XXI: Discovery of Rasorite
Chapter XXII missing
2
1
Chapter XXIII: Advertising the Twenty Mule Team Products
2
1
Chapter XXIV: Present Day
Why Turkey? Journeys in Anatolia
Working title of unpublished travel history
Box
Folder
2
3
Research material
The following research material is arranged in subject files by author. Includes
notebooks, notes, fragments of rough draft, correspondence, pamphlets.
Box
Folder
2
4
Maps
2
5
Notebooks
2
6
Notebooks
2
7
Notebooks
1963 Trip
Box
Folder
2
8
Itinerary
2
8
Expense account
2
8
Miscellaneous
2
8
Addresses
2
9
Izmir
2
10
Pergamum
2
11
Troy (Canakkale)
2
12
Anatolia
2
13
Nicaea
2
14
Istanbul-Hagia Sophia
2
15
Princes Island-Üsküdar
2
16
Istanbul-Stamboul
2
17
Seraglio
2
18
Byzantine Relics
2
19
Istanbul
History, includes maps
2
20
Black Sea
2
21
Ionia
2
22
Ephesus
2
23
Edrine
2
24
Across the Tarus
2
25
Outline and schedule
2
26
Bibliography
2
27
Preface and Chapter 1
2
28
Bosphorus
2
29
Golden Horn
2
30
Constantaninople history
2
31
Istanbul-Walls
2
32
Istanbul-Galata Pera
2
33
Konya
2
34
Aegean, Priene, Miletus, Didyma, Sardis
2
35
Ürgüp and Göreme
2
36
Kayseri and Göreme Ürgüp
2
37
Hittites
2
38
Bursa
2
39
Ankara
2
40
Amasya and Sivas
2
41
Turkish food
2
42
Southwest Mediterranean Coast, St. Nicholas, Myra, Halicarnassus
2
43
Pamukkale
2
44
Alanya
2
45
Alanya, Perge, Aspendos
2
46
Side
2
47
Northeast corner of Mediterranean
2
48
Antakya
2
49
S. S. Tari, Mediterranean Coast
2
50
Clippings and miscellaneous notes
2
51
Turkish correspondence
3
1
Anatolian Holiday
65 pages
Manuscript of first version (typed partial manuscript)
1963
3
2
Talking Turkey
44 pages, typed draft; 46 pages, carbon draft
Manuscript of second version
1966
3
3
Why Turkey
315 pages
Manuscript of third version
1967
Subseries B: Play
Box
Folder
3
4
If Walls Could Speak
"Dramatic presentation in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding
of Rye Seminary, now Rye Country Day School."
3
5
If Walls Could Speak
1967
Box
Folder
3
5
Miscellaneous material
5 pieces
3
5
Notes
1 notebook; 49 loose pages
3
5
First draft
90 pages, holograph
Subseries C: Screen play
Box
Folder
3
7
Last of the Pony Express
Gene Autry Production No. 8188, Columbia Pictures Corporation
1953
Box
Folder
3
7
Notes
11 pages
3
7
Fragments
8 pages, carbon
3
7
Draft
31 pages, carbon
3
7
Final draft
90 pages
Subseries D: Radio and Television Scripts
Box
Folder
3
7
Armstrong Circle Theatre
Box
Folder
3
7
Man talk, television script
3
7
Man talk, synopsis, typed
3 pages
3
7
Man talk, draft, carbon
44 pages
Death Valley Days
Box
Folder
3
8
Notes
28 notebooks
3
9
Miscellaneous research notes
3
10
Miscellaneous research notes
3
11
Miscellaneous clippings pamphlets
3
12
Miscellaneous pamphlets and clippings
3
13
Miscellaneous pamphlets and photographs
3
14
Story ideas
4
1
Summary of "Death Valley Days" television film
40 pages
arranged alphabetically by script title
4
1
List of radio scripts turned down by television
1 page
4
1
Index of "Death Valley Days" radio and television scripts
2 copies
arranged chronologically by radio script date
4
2
Radio script: "How Death Valley Got Its Name"
14 pages
This episode is about John Rodgers and party of '49ers that stumble
into Death Valley, narrowly surviving.
September 30, 1930
4
2
Television script: "How Death Valley Got Its Name," first draft
13 pages
This episode is about John Rodgers and party of '49ers that stumble
into Death Valley, narrowly surviving.
4
2
Television script: Production number 301, "How Death Valley Got Its Name"
46 pages
This episode is about William Henry Manly and party of '49ers that stumble
into Death Valley, narrowly surviving.
4
2
Radio script: "She Burns Green"
12 pages
In this episode Aaron Winters discovers borax in Death Valley.
October 14, 1930
4
2
Radio script: "She Burns Green"
25 pages
In this episode Aaron Winters discovers borax in Death Valley.
July 3, 1941
4
2
Television script: Production number 302, "She Burns Green"
44 pages
In this episode Aaron Winters discovers borax in Death Valley. Aired first season.
4
3
Research material: "Empire of Youth"
11 pages
4
3
Television material: "Empire of Youth"
5 pages
Letter regarding script revisions and synopsis of script by McCann-Erckson, Inc.
4
3
Television script: Production number 420, "Empire of Youth"
34 pages
This episode is about San Francisco pioneer merchant William T. Coleman. He forms a
vigilante committee, starts the Death Valley borax industry, and is eventually asked to run for United States President.
January 13, 1958
4
3
Television script: Production number 312, "Swamper Ike"
46 pages
This episode is about Joe Salsuepuedes, a young Cocopah Native American, who joins
a mule skinner's crew and falls afoul of outlaws. Aired first season.
4
3
Radio script: "Jimmy Dayton's Courtship"
18 pages
This episode is about Jimmy Dayton and Florrie Wilkins becoming interested in each other.
January 20, 1931
4
4
Radio script: "Jimmy Dayton's Last Adventure"
18 pages
This episode is about Jimmy Dayton's death.
January 27, 1931
4
4
Television script: "Jimmy Dayton's Treasure," draft
20 pages
This episode is about Jimmy Dayton and Florrie Wilkins' marriage.
September 24, 1931
4
4
Television material: "Jimmy Dayton's Treasure"
2 pages
Synopsis by McCann-Erickson, Inc.
4
4
Television script: "Jimmy Dayton's Treasure"
42 pages
This episode is about Jimmy Dayton and Florrie Wilkins' marriage.
February 27, 1954
4
4
Research material: "Birth of a Boom"
4 pages
notes
4
4
Radio script: "The Story of Death Valley Scotty"
22 pages
This episode explains what Walter Scott (Death Valley Scotty) did when he arrived in California.
March 24, 1931
4
4
Television script: Production number 337, "The Story of Death Valley Scotty," draft
This episode explains what Walter Scott (Death Valley Scotty) did when he arrived in California.
4
4
Television script: Production number 337, "The Story of Death Valley Scotty"
41 pages
This episode explains what Walter Scott (Death Valley Scotty) did when he arrived in California.
April 29, 1955
4
5
Radio script: "Death Valley Scotty's Gold Mine"
25 pages
In this episode a group of people in Death Valley, including Rol King, A. D.
Myers, Sidney Norman, and "Johnny-Behind-the-Gun," are on a desert journey with Death Valley
Scotty to find his gold.
June 2, 1931
4
5
Radio script: "High Wide an' Handsome"
18 pages
This episode explains the boom and bust in the town
of Rhyolite in 1908. Main characters include Sam Adams, Shorty Harris, Bill Corcoran,
Joe Jennings, Hank Luther, Tillie Reardon, and Mickey Devine.
July 7, 1931
4
5
Research material: "Black Bart, the PO 8"
12 pages
Notes on Black Bart.
4
5
Television script: Production number 340, "Black Bart, the PO 8" draft
8 pages
This episode is about Black Bart, the outlaw.
October 26, 1954
4
5
Television material: Synopsis of "Black Bart, the PO 8"
3 pages
Written by McCann-Erickson, Inc.
4
5
Radio script: "The Mysterious Stranger"
22 pages
This episode is about a prospector that arrives in Death Valley.
January 25, 1932
4
5
Research material: "Faro Bill's Little Game"
11 pages
notes
4
5
Research material: "Faro Bill's Little Game"
9 pages
Letter from W. W. Cahill.
1932
4
5
Television material: "Faro Bill's Little Game"
2 pages
Synopsis of episode written by McCann-Erickson, Inc.
September 14, 1956
4
5
Radio script: "Light-fingered Harry"
23 pages
This episode is centered around Harry Watrous, who is accused of stealing items from Wash Cahill, Shorty Peters, Sam, Mrs. Gary, and Abner, the storekeeper.
4
6
Radio script: "The Death Valley Chuckawalla"
24 pages
In this episode Johnny Culter asks Sadie from Chicago to marry him.
May 23, 1932
4
6
Television script: Production number 370, "Bill Bottle's Birthday"
40 pages
In this episode William C. Bottle asks Madge Daly to marry him.
This episode is based on the radio script "Death Valley Pete's Christmas Party."
April 27, 1956
4
6
Radio script: "Riggs and Riggs"
21 pages
In this episode Henry Riggs spends $70,000 from his and his wife's gold
claim on a trip around the world.
December 29, 1932
4
6
Television material: "Riggs and Riggs"
3 pages
Synopsis of episode written by McCann-Erickson, Inc.
4
6
Television script: Production number 348, "Riggs and Riggs"
36 pages
In this episode Henry Riggs spends $70,000 from his and his wife's gold
claim on a trip around the world.
February 24, 1955
4
6
Radio script: "Cash at the Gravesite"
25 pages
In this episode, Ishmael Parker buys a car at the insistence of his wife.
February 23, 1933
4
6
Radio script: "Cupid by Correspondence"
24 pages
In this episode Windy Bill and Biscuit-Shooting Susie marry.
February 23, 1933
4
6
Television material: "Cupid by Correspondence"
5 pages
Synopsis of episode. Two versions; one written by McCann-Erickson, Inc.
4
6
Television episode: Production number 379, "Loggerheads"
37 pages
In this episode Si Seymour wins a log-rolling contest but
doesn't get the medal when he refuses to kiss the lumber queen, Flo Ashton. Based on the radio script
from March 16, 1933.
November 17, 1956
4
6
Research material: "Camel Train"
9 pages
Includes notes, clippings, and a photograph of a camel skeleton.
4
6
Television episode: Production number 394, "Camel Train"
34 pages
In this episode Lt. E. F. Beale imports Arabian camels and a cameleer,
"Hi Jolly," for experimental military transportation in the Arizona desert.
October 1, 1957
4
8
Radio script: "One-eyed Sailor"
22 pages
In this episode Sinbad, a one-eyed sailor, becomes owner of a ranch through a game a poker
and prepares to marry a Paiute Native American named Tavu.
June 8, 1933
4
8
Radio material: "Reunion by Radio"
3 correspondence; 1 clipping
Correspondence from Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Vincent.
1933
4
8
Radio script: "Reunion by Radio"
23 pages
This episode is about a reunion of the Vincent family from Ottawa, Kansas that meets a long-lost cousin, Frank Tilton, that lives in Death Valley.
June 15, 1933
4
8
Radio script: "The Leadfield Boom"
22 pages
This episode is about lead mining during 1926 at Leadfield, located just east of Death Valley in the Grapevine Mountains.
The main characters in this episode are two miners from Los Angeles, Pop Morehouse and Ed Spears.
July 27, 1933
4
8
Radio script: "Not Unpacked Yet"
22 pages
This episode is about a miner from Illinois named Lem Tucker, who leaves his family while he tries to get rich
quickly by buying a mine in Death Valley's Amargosa Mountains with plans to sell it immediately for a profit.
The story takes place from 1906 to 1931, as Tucker cannot sell his mine because of national economic troubles.
August 10, 1933
4
8
Radio script: "Mrs. Troter's Husband"
25 pages
In this episode Zeb Trotter loses his watch, which was a wedding present from his wife, in a game of poker. He is afraid to tell
his wife, Annie, that he no longer has his watch. This episode ends as a cliff-hanger.
August 31, 1933
4
8
Radio script: "Mrs. Troter's Husband"
20 pages
This is the conclusion to the previous episode. In order to get his watch back before his wife found
out, Zeb Trotter, worked three weeks moving railroad freight for Shorty Hutchins, the man who won the watch in the poker game.
September 7, 1933
4
9
Radio script: "Death Valley's Million Dollar Wedding"
25 pages
In this episode handsome Rusty Bellows is tricked into marrying a homely
waitress, Carrie, in order to gain mining stock, which turns out to be worthless.
November 9, 1933
4
9
Television material: "Million Dollar Wedding"
3 pages
Synopsis by McCann-Erickson, Inc.
4
9
Television script: Production number 347, "Million Dollar Wedding"
39 pages
In this episode handsome "Tiny" Stoker is tricked into marrying a homely
waitress, Aggie Filene, in order to gain mining stock, which turns out to be worthless.
4
9
Radio script: "Painless Extraction"
26 pages
This episode is about Doc Dugan's dentist practice in Death Valley.
November 23, 1933
4
9
Radio script: "A Paiute and a Plug Hat"
25 pages
This episode is set in the 1880s. This episode tells the story of the first miner in Death Valley, Bob
Montgomery, and the good relationship he had with the Paiute Native Americans who lived in the area. Montgomery
helped settle disputes among the Paiutes and the newly arrived miners, meeting with Tecopa, the Paiute Chief.
December 7, 1933
4
9
Radio script: "Rates on Request"
24 pages
This episode is set during 1849 to 1889. In this episode Ben Brinsmade starts a hotel in Death Valley with
partner Dusty Miller.
December 21, 1933
4
10
Radio script: "Little Hermann's Millions"
21 pages
This episode takes place in 1908, as Hermann Little, Aleck Jarvis, and Eddie Newcomb
become partners in the real estate business. The partners make money when rawhide booms.
February 1, 1934
4
10
Television material: "Little Oscar's Millions"
16 pages, carbon draft; 17 pages, treatment draft; 2 pages, synopsis by McCann-Erickson, Inc.
4
10
Television script: Production number 317, "Little Oscar's Millions"
21 pages
This episode takes place in 1908, as Oscar Little and Eddie Newcombe
become partners in the real estate business.
February 1, 1934
4
10
Radio script: "Beans an' Bacon"
21 pages
In this episode, Ben Stiles, a miner in Death Valley, eats beans for every meal, even after he
becomes wealthy.
February 15, 1934
4
10
Radio material: "Beans an' Bacon"
3 pages
Two letters from C. W. Curran about retelling his story.
1933-1934
4
10
Radio script: "The Silver Queen"
28 pages
This episode is about miner J. D. Ryan and his wife, Hannah Ryan. The family
lived in the gold campy, Rhyolite, during the 1905 boom and 1907 bust period.
March 8, 1934
4
11
Radio script: "Hold-Up"
23 pages
This episode is about the important role that burros played in helping miners mine
for gold, as Shorty stops a train in order to obtain water for his burro.
April 26, 1934
4
11
Radio script: "Wife for Sale"
25 pages
In this episode, Bill Corcoran, a miner in Rhyolite decides to marry Francine, a beautiful
woman from Salt Lake City. Bill decides he is not ready to marry, and allows miner Harry Stewart to marry her.
May 10, 1934
4
11
Radio material: "Chinaman's Luck"
6 pages
Letter from Branch H. Smith regarding story idea for this episode.
1934
4
11
Radio script: "Chinaman's Luck"
25 pages
In this episode Quong Sing, a Chinese man who ran a restaurant in Mina, Nevada, bought
a car off of a man that was passing through town. The car did not run well, so Quong exchanged it with
Bert Walsh, a miner in Mina, for stock in Simon Silver-Lead. The worthless stock skyrocketed in value
soon after Quong took ownership of it, and he cashed it out for $56,000.
July 12, 1934
4
11
Radio material: "Chinaman's Luck"
3 pages
Fan letters regarding this episode.
1934
4
11
Radio script: "Ma Preston"
22 pages
In this episode Tom Preston marries a French woman that he calls "Ma." She leaves
for a short trip to France and dies there. Tom is deeply sadden by the news and dies a lonely, but
rich, man.
July 19, 1934
4
11
Radio script: "Yankee Jim"
24 pages
In this episode is set along the North Fork of the American River near Sacramento,
California. Yankee Jim, a British man that man a living as a horse thief, stole horses from the miners
in the area. As a miner named Kentuck and another named Nutmeg waited for Yankee Jim to return to his hide-out
in the mountains, they began to dig and found gold. This is supposed to be the first time that people found gold
in any place other than the river beds.
August 30, 1934
4
12
Radio material: "R. I. P."
6 pages
One fan letter from William J. Quinnville, and response from radio station. Another letter
of inquiry from listener Bessie Storrs Pawley.
1934
4
12
Radio script: "R. I. P."
23 pages
This episode is set in northwest of Death Valley in the Tioga Pass during the 1880s. In the town of
Lundy, where a Chinese cook named Sam is presumed to be dead four times, and each time he wakes up and scares the
the Chinese and Mexican men in the mines, but not miners Frank Quinville and Wash.
September 13, 1934
4
12
Television script: "Land of the Free," draft
16 pages
This is the treatment for television, based on the radio script of September 27, 1934.
February 22, 1953
4
12
Television script: Production number 318, "Land of the Free"
42 pages
This episode is about a southern gentleman named Tyler Preston who helps two slaves
recover their stolen poke, containing the money they have saved to buy their freedom.
May 26, 1953
4
12
Research material: "Death Valley Scotty's Secret"
1 folder
Clippings, notes, and postcards related to Death Valley Scotty.
4
14
Radio script: "Death Valley Scotty's Secret"
25 pages
In this episode that takes place in 1925, Walter Scott, or Death Valley Scotty,
has a mine that on one else knows the location to. While Scott became wealthy off the mine, he did
not reveal the location to any one except Mrs. Nesbit, a woman from New Hampshire.
October 25, 1934
4
14
Radio material: "A Self Made Man"
4 pages
Article and a letter from Dorothy and Wash.
1952
4
14
Television script: Production number 306, "A Self Made Man," draft
15 pages
In this episode attorney Lew Barry defends the life of Dan Gorman, who
once tried to kill him.
1952
4
14
Radio script: "New Worlds for Old"
23 pages
In this episode a Frenchman named Marius Durand starts a bar in Goldfield named the
Mozart Cafe. The bar struggles through prohibition and the decline of the mining-town.
November 22, 1934
4
14
Radio script: "New Worlds for Old"
10 letters
Most letters were to protest this episode because it features alcohol, prostitution and other
unseemly topics. Includes responses from the producers of Death Valley Days.
1934
4
14
Radio script: "When Mules Go Touring"
27 pages
This episode is about the 20 Mule Team tour around the country to advertise the
company's borax sales.
December 6, 1934
4
14
Research material: "The Short Man Passes"
24 pages
Research notes, clippings and a photograph regarding Shorty Harris and Jim Dayton.
1934
4
14
Radio script: "The Short Man Passes"
26 pages
This episode is about Shorty Harris' life and funeral in Death Valley.
December 13, 1934
4
14
Radio script: "The Short Man Passes"
4 letters
Letters of appreciation for retelling Shorty Harris' life. Includes information
about the dedication and marking of Shorty Harris' gravesite.
1934
4
15
Radio script: "While Rome Burns"
25 pages
This episode is set in a mining town in 1923. As a family celebrates Christmas,
a fire destroys parts of the town.
December 20, 1934
4
15
Research material: "The Mormon's Grindstone"
13 pages, notes
4
15
Television material: "The Mormon's Grindstone"
4 pages
Synopsis by McCann-Erickson, Inc.
4
15
Television script: "The Mormon's Grindstone"
37 pages
This episode is about "Metaliferour" Murphy, a Utah assayer under suspicion of fraud. He is in trouble
because he reports high silver content in the broken pieces of an old grindstone.
April 28, 1955
4
15
Television script: "The Mormon's Grindstone"
37 pages
This episode is about "Metaliferour" Murphy, a Utah assayer under suspicion of fraud. He is in trouble
because he reports high silver content in the broken pieces of an old grindstone.
April 28, 1955
4
15
Radio script: "Snooky"
25 pages
In this episode the Dan Sullivan and Mrs. Sullivan allow their son, Snooky, to
accompany the boy's uncle, John Sullivan, on a short business trip by car. The boy ends up get
lost in the mountains, and is found in the end by a search party.
January 3, 1935
4
15
Radio material: "Snooky"
2 letters, 2 clippings
Letters approving and disapproving of the broadcast.
1955
4
15
Radio material: "Silver Susie"
3 clippings
4
16
Radio script: "Matrimony Preferred"
26 pages
This episode is about a woman named Effie Maltby, that believes her only way to
get married is to find a man out of town. She answers a personal ad that describes an old prospector
in Baxter named Benjamin, or Bunion Ben, is looking for a woman to marry. When she arrives in Baxter,
she is horrified at the sight of Benjamin, and immediately gets on the train to Goldfield where she
marries Andy Anderon.
March 7, 1935
4
16
Radio script: "The World's Biggest Job"
26 pages
This episode is about the building of the Boulder Dam, or Hoover Dam, and the impact
the dam had on the miners living in the area.
March 7, 1935
4
16
Radio script: "The World's Biggest Job"
24 pages
Commemorative script, with photos. This episode is about the building of the Boulder Dam, or Hoover Dam, and the impact
the dam had on the miners living in the area.
April 11, 1935
4
16
Research material: "The World's Biggest Job"
Notes, clippings, and commemorative material.
March 7, 1935
5
1
Radio script: "The Postmaster of Bagdad"
28 pages
This episode is about a joke that almost went too far. Bill Blake, postmaster of Bagdad, California,
made Lee Yount his assistant postmaster. Lee mailed Bill cigars to show his appreciation. Joksters Charlie Kelly
and Inh Sutcliff replaced the cigars with trash, causing a feud between Bill and Lee that was almost resolved with a shoot out.
May 16, 1935
5
1
Radio script: "The First 20 Mule Teamster"
24 pages
This episode is about a dispute between two men, Charlie Miles and J. M. Vandewater, who both
claim to be the first 20 Mule teamster.
June 6, 1935
5
1
Radio script: "Grandma"
23 pages
This episode retells the story of Mary Giles Potter. She married Frank Potter, and mined for gold with
her husband. She had one daughter named Polly and a grandson named Giles.
June 13, 1935
5
1
Radio script: "Horseplay"
2 pages
Letter for story idea from O. J. Fisk and letter to Fisk
from Frank C. O'Kelly.
5
1
Radio script: "Horseplay"
25 pages
This episode is set in mountains south of Death Valley during the 1890s. Jim Fiske
played a practical joke on Roy Coutright while they worked in the mountains. The two were low on money
and food at the time.
July 11, 1935
5
1
Radio script: "The Long Arm of the Law"
25 pages
This episode is about Pat Garrett, sheriff of Lincoln County. Garrett is the sheriff that
killed Billy the Kid. This episode is about the sheriff and Billy Wilson, one of Billy the Kid's gang members,
who was also known as John Langdon.
November 7, 1935
5
2
Radio script: "Sixth Sense"
29 pages
In this episode Suzie Jarvis, a blind girl, is taken care of by the town's people
because they believe, as a handicap person, she cannot work. Steve MacIntyre, a mine superintendent, befriends
Suzie, and urges her to become a telegraph operator. She starts work at Steve's insistence, and ends up
figuring out who a stage robber is because of her "sixth sense" of heightened hearing and touch.
December 5, 1935
5
2
Television script: Production number 335, "Sixth Sense"
49 pages
In this episode Suzie Jarvis, a blind girl, is taken care of by the town's people
because they believe, as a handicap person, she cannot work. Steve MacIntyre, a mine superintendent, befriends
Suzie, and urges her to become a telegraph operator. She starts work at Steve's insistence, and ends up
figuring out who a stage robber is because of her "sixth sense" of heightened hearing and touch.
May 8, 1954
5
2
Radio script: "The Kickapoo Run"
30 pages
This episode is about homesteading in New Mexico in 1895. Kirk Morrison, a cowboy, wants to start
a home at the site of Kickapoo Spring, although he is prohibited by law from doing so. Instead, he becomes a U. S.
Marshall that oversees homesteading in the area. He helps Bonnie Carter claim the area around Kickapoo Spring.
Later in life, when Morrison is in financial trouble, he is helped by bank manager, Carter Bogart, who turns out to
be Bonnie Carter's son. Morrison ends up living with widowed Bonnie Bogart.
April 9, 1936
5
2
Research material: "The Kickapoo Run"
2 pages
notes
5
2
Television material: "The Kickapoo Run"
2 pages
Synopsis by McCann-Erickson, Inc.
5
2
Television script: Production number 333, "The Kickapoo Run"
44 pages
This episode is about homesteading in New Mexico in 1895. Kirk Morrison, a cowboy, wants to start
a home at the site of Kickapoo Spring, although he is prohibited by law from doing so. Instead, he becomes a U. S.
Marshall that oversees homesteading in the area. He helps Bonnie Carter claim the area around Kickapoo Spring.
Later in life, when Morrison is in financial trouble, he is helped by bank manager, Carter Bogart, who turns out to
be Bonnie Carter's son. Morrison ends up living with widowed Bonnie Bogart.
April 10, 1954
5
2
Television script: Production number 404, "The Winchester Mystery House"
37 pages
This episode is about Sarah Winchester and the house she built for herself near San Jose, California.
Based on radio script "Worthington's Folly" that aired April 23, 1936.
5
2
Research material: "The Winchester Mystery House"
28 pages
Notes and printed material.
5
4
Television script: Production number 309, "Cynthy's Dream Dress"
40pages
This episode is about an unlucky prospector's wife who waits for years to get a
lavender silk dress that she has always wanted. Based on radio script "Purple and Fine Linen" that aired on
April 30, 1936.
March 3, 1953
5
4
Research material: "The Saint's Portrait"
5 pages
notes
5
4
Radio script: "The Saint's Portrait"
27 pages
This episode is about the theft of a holy picture from the Acoma Native Americans, which
led to a war with the Laguna Native Americans.
May 7, 1936
5
4
Television script: Production number 338, "The Saint's Portrait"
12 pages
Synopsis of script and outgoing letters regarding the script.
5
4
Television script: Production number 338, "The Saint's Portrait"
45 pages
This episode is about the theft of a holy picture from the Acoma Native Americans, which
led to a war with the Laguna Native Americans.
5
4
Radio script: "He Remains an Englishman: Part I"
29 pages
This episode is about an Englishman named E. McQuade Bedford, who, with his wife Narcissa and her sister Beryl
started a new life in New Mexico during the 1890s. He raised cattle.
May 14, 1936
5
5
Television script: Production number 382, "Pat Garrett's Side of It"
37 pages
This episode tells the story of Garrett, Billy the Kid, and Lew Wallace. Based on the radio
script "Billy the Kid" that aired on July 9-30, 1936.
October 22, 1956
5
5
Research material: "Pat Garrett's Side of It"
14 pages, notes; 13 pages, article by Eugene Manlove Rhodes; 1 clipping; 2 letters from Elizabeth Garrett.
1936-1937
5
5
Radio script: "Dot-dash Courtship"
32 pages
This episode is about the marriage of Sun Lee, a Chinese messanger boy in Bodie, California to
Miss Minnie Lee, a telegraph operator in Genoa, Nevada. The marriage took place via the telegraph.
August 20, 1936
5
5
Radio script: "Dot-dash Courtship"
7 pages
One letter from J. H. Swart with an alternative version of the story and "Sun Lee's courtship" version
of the story submitted by Western Union.
1937
5
6
Radio script: "The Oldest Joke in the World"
29 pages
This episode is about a married couple, Pete Grubb and his wife Violet, that argue about Violet's mother moving into their house.
Pete does not want Violet's mother living in their house. Violet's mother moves in and Pete says she has to move out.
Violet says that Pete, not her mother, has to move out. In the end, Violet's mother stays because Violet is
pregnant and wants her mother's help around the house.
October 23, 1936
5
6
Radio material: "The Oldest Joke in the World"
2 letters
One protest letter and a reply letter.
October, 1936
5
6
Radio script: "The Ernest Workers of Weepah"
29 pages
This episode is about women in a Nevada mining camp, called Weepah in this story,
that created an organization called the Ernest Workers of Weepah in the 1880s. It is decided by the members that the
organization will work to improve the town. The organization president is Mrs. Luella Grimshaw, with members
Mattie O'Keefe, Mrs. Pettibone, and Annabelle Decker. The first project they undertake is to purchase a hearse
for proper funeral processions in town. After raising money and buying the hearse, the first person
to die is the town drunk.
October 30, 1936
5
6
Radio script: "Too Many Wives"
29 pages
This episode is about an Indian Agent named Henry that tries to make the Navajo tribe
follow monogomy laws set by the United States government.
December 4, 1936
5
6
Radio script: "Eyeless in Goldfield"
32 pages
In this episode Dutch Martin, a miner, who lives in Goldfield, Nevada, and becomes
blind because of a mining accident in the late 1920s and later strikes it rich finding ore.
January 1, 1937
5
6
Radio script: "Eyeless in Goldfield"
2 clippings
Articles about Heinie Miller, or "Dutch Martin," the blind miner in the "Eyeless in Goldfield" episode.
1936
5
7
Research material: "The Light on the Mountain"
18 pages
notes
1937
5
7
Radio script: "The Light on the Mountain"
31 pages
This episode takes place in 1863, in Virginia City, Nevada. The town grew because of
the Comstock mine. In this episode, lawyer Bill Stewart, working in Virginia City, drafts a constitution for
the state of Nevada. He becomes Nevada's first senator.
February 12, 1937
5
7
Television script: "The Light on the Mountain"
4 pages
outline
1937
5
7
Television script: Production number 344, "The Light on the Mountain"
43 pages
Nevada is admitted to the Union through the efforts of lawyer William Stewart and mining engineer Richard Corey.
February 12, 1937
5
7
Television material: "The Light on the Mountain"
16 pages
Correspondence between Richard L. North, Chester L. North, Ruth Woodman, CBS, McCann-Erickson, Inc., and
Pacific Coast Borax Company lawyers over possible libel suit concerning the defamation of Judge North in script.
1955
5
7
Radio material: "Abyssinian Desert Companion"
1 clipping
1937
5
7
Radio script: "Abyssinian Desert Companion"
25 pages
In this episode, Barney Barnett, a miner, helps sick people with a medicine he carries
with him at all times. He helps the governor of Nevada with this medicine, and helps countless others. Barnett
is investigated by the court because he does not have a license to practice medicine.
April 2, 1937
5
7
Television material: "Abyssinian Desert Companion"
2 pages
Synopsis by McCann-Erickson, Inc.
5
8
Radio script: "Pioche's First Piano"
31 pages
In this episode Tom Goskin, a saloon owner in Pioche, Nevada, receives a piano by freight
train. An old man appears one day in town, plays songs on the piano that everyone in town is happy with, and
then fakes illness. While people go to get help for the man, he steals the money in the saloon's cash register
and disappears.
May 21, 1937
5
8
Television script: "Wildcat's First Piano"
39 pages
In this episode a mining camp imports a piano, and a quartz mill checker, Chuck Latham, begins
to play the piano. Latham was a concert pianist before moving to town. He lost his arm in a train accident.
May 21, 1937
5
8
Radio script: "Conversation Piece"
29 pages
This episode is about Lafe Allen and Heber Schuster, mining partners, who did not speak to each other for
months after a fight, but continued to live and work together. The silence was broken when Heber helped Lafe recover
from an illness.
July 2, 1937
5
8
Radio script: "Solomon in All His Glory"
27 pages
In this episode a man named Solomon Ross, a drifter who picked up odd jobs in mining camps,
became a newspaperman in Amargosa. Ross becomes a hero when a child is trapped in a mine cave-in.
July 9, 1937
5
8
Television script: "Solomon in All His Glory"
42 pages
In this episode a man named Solomon Ross, a drifter who picked up odd jobs in mining camps,
became a newspaperman in Amargosa. Ross becomes a hero when a child is trapped in a mine cave-in.
July 9, 1937
5
9
Radio script: "The Man With the Mortgaged Head"
34 pages
This episode is about Virgil Cox, a miner, who was working with a tamping iron and explosives
when the iron went through his head. He did not die, but he had a hole in his head that was covered with a
metal plate. The doctor that worked on Virgil had him sign an agreement that upon Virgil's death,
his head would become property of the doctor for medical research purposes.
July 16, 1937
5
9
Television material: "The Hangman Waits"
5 pages
Synopsis by McCann-Erickson, Inc.
5
9
Television script: "The Hangman Waits"
40 pages
In this episode Calico, California lawyer Greg Lewis proves suspected murderer, Alex Grant, is
innocent by presenting miner Bill Carney's notebook.
December 19, 1955
5
9
Radio script: "The Hangman Waits"
32 pages
This episode is set in Evanston, Wyoming in 1892. Lawyer Fred Davis proves suspected murderer, Harry Teer, is
innocent by presenting miner Bill Carney's notebook.
August 6, 1937
5
9
Research material: "The Hangman Waits"
2 pages, notes; 2 pages, letters
1937
5
9
Radio material: "Mission of the Angelus"
4 pages, letters
August 13, 1937
5
10
Radio material: "Snowshoe Thompson"
17 pages, notes
1937
5
10
Radio material: "Snowshoe Thompson"
1 page, clipping
1937
5
10
Radio material: "Snowshoe Thompson"
1 page, clipping
1937
5
10
Radio material: "Snowshoe Thompson"
1 magazine
1937
5
10
Television material: "Snowshoe Thompson"
5 pages
Letter from Melvin Thompson and reply from Woodman
1953
5
10
Television material: "Snowshoe Thompson"
2 pages
Synopsis by McCann-Erickson, Inc.
1953
5
10
Television script: Production number 327, "Snowshoe Thompson"
2 pages
This episode is about John A. Thompson, or "Snowshoe Thompson" who delivers mail in winter on
skis from Placerville, California to Genoa, Nevada in 1855. The plot centers around Thompson's efforts to deliver mail
and court a woman named Agnes Siingleton in Genoa. This episode is based on the August 27, 1937 radio script.
March 6, 1954
5
10
Television material: "11,000 Miners Can't be Wrong"
3 pages
Synopsis written by McCann-Erickson, Inc. Script based on the September 10, 1937 radio script.
September 25, 1954
5
10
Radio script: "Lost- a Mother"
32 pages
In this episode a mother named Mrs. Carlson and her children travel with a wagon party from Salt Lake City to Bringham City,
Arizona in 1878. One night, Mrs. Carlson goes out in the evening to round up the cows and does not return. The party is worried
she will never return, but when morning comes she arrives and explains she did not want to bring the cows back in the dark around the
canyons.
