Original subtitles

And now,Death Valley Days.

♪♪ [ trumpet ]

Hyah! Yah!

Yah! Yah!

Howdy, folks. I'm the Old Ranger,

and I have another interesting true story for you

about the historic Death Valley country.

If some high mucky-muck from the Society Islands,

way out there in the Pacific Ocean,

hadn't ordered himself a gorgeous red fire engine,

you wouldn't be hearing this story tonight.

It's laid in the famous gold camp of Columbia, California,

and it's called...

Twice in its short lifetime,

the town had been completely wiped out by fire--

once in 1854, and again in 1857.

[ people clamoring ]

It is now the year 1859.

Once more, the town is built up.

Men are working,

and men are eating.

I remember the day I arrived here from Connecticut.

The town was still smoking like Sodom and Gomorrah.

I don't know why you liken it to them two cities, Miss Pellet.

You would if you'd read your Bible.

Because they were sinks of inequity just like this town,

and they were destroyed by a rain of brimstone.

Columbia's no sink.

It wasn't destroyed by a rain of brimstone.

It was a spark from Old Man Edwards' pipe falling on a pile of shavings.

Isn't that right, John?Sure is.

Yeah. Old Man Edwards started it with his pipe.

I didn't notice you in church this morning either, Mr. Haskell.

Well, I had a late night of it at the arena last night watching the fight.

What fight?A big grizzly bear and a two-year-old bull.

How terrible.No. It was pretty good.

I had my money on the bull, but Filo here, he was-- Ow!

Oh, you've-you've gotta be careful of those chairs, Boy.

I'm always running splinters in myself too.

Mmm! Peach cobbler.

Nobody makes peach cobbler like you, Miss Pellet.

A fight between a bull and a bear!

I think it's positively heathenish.

And you pretend Columbia's no sink of inequity.

A man has to have some diversion.

A town that has 30 saloons, four breweries,

and 143 faro game.

"Layout" is the term. "Faro layout."

Now, if I had a wife and a home--

You'd better reform first.You mean if I will, you'll--

We've been all over that before, Mr. Clark.

Oh, but women do change their minds sometimes.

I have no intention of marrying.

I might be leaving Columbia pretty soon anyway.

You're moving away? Where to?

Sonora, maybe.Sonora?

Why, Sonora isn't half as rich as Columbia, nor half as big.

Size and wealth aren't everything, Mr. Clark.

There are the finer things of life.

Just as a matter of zoological interest,

who won, the bull or the bear?

Hello, Judge.Oh, good day, Filo.

On official business, I see, huh?[ clearing throat ]

Help!

Oh!

Help! Help! Help!

Help![ whispers ] Conflagration.

Conflagration! Conflagration!

Conflagration? Heck, it's a fire!

Help!

Help! Oh, help! Fire!

Help!

Fire!

[ woman screams ]

Now, now, don't get excited.

That's right. Scatter those flames. Stamp those boxes out.

Gangway! Gangway!

Is that a pail of beer, Tom?

Sure is, Judge.

[ no audible dialogue ]

Oh, it's all right, Miss Pellet.

We've got it under control.

That was a close one.

What were you trying to do, Kitty, burn up the town again?

Oh, thank you for coming to my rescue.

I hope you didn't burn yourself, Mr. Clark.Only my coat.

I've got some baking soda and bandages, and...

What I need is a good, stiff drink.

To get the smoke out of my throat.

There's plenty more beer where this came from,

on the house.Splendid. Splendid.

I, too, feel somewhat dry from the exertion.

Twice now this town's been wiped out by fire.

We can't run the risk of its happening again.That's right.

You're absolutely right.Then what we need is a fire engine.

No more of ya piddlin' bucket brigades.You're right, Boy.

This town rates a real fire engine.MEN: Yeah!

Columbia, the gem of the mother lode.

[ men exclaim ]

I don't care what she said.

But a fire engine will cost a lot of money.

Well, we'll raise it.

I'll start the ball rolling with $100.

Here's 50.Here's another hundred.

[ overlapping chatter ]

How about you, Judge?

Well, I'd-- I'd like nothing better than to contribute,

but, uh, unfortunately, I'm not a man of means.

Then you can donate your services... digging cisterns.

Cisterns? Digging? Me?

We'll need a lot of water for our engine.

[ laughter ]This time we'll put you to hard labor, Judge.

Ah, but you haven't got your fire engine yet.

You'll have to order it from back East.

Why, it'll take at least a year.

Uh, might be something in San Francisco,

if anyone had the time to go up there.

I'll go.Good!

[ men exclaiming ]

FILO: I'll be only too glad of an excuse

to get away from here for a while.

I'll take the stage out today.

That-a-boy, Filo!Yeah!

We're counting on you, Filo.I'll do my best, Boy.

Bye! Bye! Bon voyage-y.

And take care of the money.You bet I will.

Is Mr. Clark going away?Mm-hmm. Going to San Francisco.

He must've decided very suddenly.

I was talking to him only this noon.

He's not leaving for good? Could be.

But--Ah, Miss Pellet.

Oh, hello, Judge.

May I have the pleasure of escorting you to the Evensong service?

Hyah!

Miss Pellet?

Oh, I'm sorry. What did you say, Judge?

I requested the pleasure of escorting you to the Evensong service.

Uh, I'll go with you, Judge.

All the way to San Francisco--

first by stagecoach,

then by riverboat--[ horn blares ]

Filo guarded the precious money.

In San Francisco, he sought out the city fire chief.

We have just what you're looking for--

one of the neatest, trimmest, prettiest little fire engines that ever threw water.

New?Well, practically new.

How come you wanna get rid of her?

Well, the fact is, she don't really belong to us.

This engine was built back East and shipped around the horn

for the king, or some high potentate, of Tahiti.

Tahiti?One of those Society Islands out in the Pacific Ocean.

It was consigned to the city of Papeete.

That's what she's called-- Little Papeete.

I see. Well, how come she got sidetracked here?

Nobody seems to know.

But she's been sitting on the dock for quite some time now.

The shippers wanna get rid of her, so if you folks want her--

Sold. To the town of Columbia.Come right on.

A mining camp is no place for a lady unprotected.

If she's a lady, she is protected.

Yes, but what I mean is... [ door opens ]

Filo!

Ssst!

Mr. Clark.Oh, hello, Miss Pellet.

You've been away. San Francisco.

Business?Well, now, it turned out to be pure pleasure.

You bring any pictures of her, Filo?

No, but she'll be coming down before long.

You can see her for yourself.

Who is "she"?

Little Papeete.

Miss Pellet, I'm still waiting for my coffee.

Oh, she's a sweetheart.

[ men laughing ]

They said she was supposed to go to the king of Tahiti.

She must be a beauty if a king wanted her.

Wonderful color, I understand.

Brilliant. But it isn't just her color.

It's her lines. Ohh.Graceful, eh?

Like a swan.I trust she knows how to cook,

this lady whose charms you were just describing--

Miss Papeete. [ men laughing ]

Or wasn't that the name?

Oh, that's the name, but she's no lady.

[ men laughing ]I might've guessed.

From what you said about her high color, it must be paint.

[ laughing ]Sure.

Sure, it's paint. [ laughing ]

Bright red! [ laughing continues ]

[ laughing ]

Oh, don't look shocked, Miss Pellet.

Papeete is a fire engine.A fire engine?

Didn't I tell you that Columbia was the up-and-comingest camp in California?

It must've cost a fortune.

We all chipped in.

Filo here gave $100.

Mr. Clark!

You throw your money around like that, and you'll--

Why not? There's nothing else I have to save it for.

I can't think of anything I'd rather spend it on than Little Papeete.

Oh, she's a sweetheart.

They were good showmen-- those men in early Columbia.

They sneaked Papeete into town one night unannounced,

hustled her into her new quarters,

and kept her there behind locked doors.

Until the day when the public was to have

its first glimpse of her in all her glory.

♪♪ [ marching band ]

A general holiday was declared.

♪♪ [ continues ][chattering]

Ah, Miss Pellet. [ chuckles ]

Well, nice to have you join us.

Oh, I'm so excited I could swoon.

How come you're not marching?

It's only the boys in the engine company.

And you don't belong?The membership is limited.

Oh.Well, uh, personally,

I'd rather be standing here beside you, dear lady,

than pushing a fire engine up the street.

♪♪ [ stops ]

♪♪ [ one note ]

Citizens of Columbia

and those not so lucky, [ laughter ]

it is my proud privilege and pleasure

to unveil to public gaze

Columbia's first modern piece

of fire-fighting apparatus.

And here it is, Little Papeete.

♪♪ [ fanfare ]

[ bell clangs ]

[ bell clangs ]

[ cheering ]

[ bell clanging ]

Oh, don't they look handsome?

Oh, there's your husband, Mrs. Brady. Hello, Matthew.

Oh, yoo-hoo! John!

Filo!

Well!

Company, march!

[ bell clanging ][ cheering ]

[ bell clanging continues ]

[ cheering continues ]

Company, halt!

Ladies and gentlemen,

we are about to demonstrate

that Little Papeete is not only a thing of beauty,

but an object of practical and vital use

that can throw a stream of water equal in volume

to a thousand men with buckets.

Company... let 'em go.

Oh, aren't they efficient? Look how fast they're working.

All right. Start pumping.

Maybe the valve isn't open.

[ laughing ]

[ laughing ]

[ cheering ]

[ cheering continues ]

Oh, look how far it's going!

[ cheering continues ]

You'll die of dyspepsia if you wolf your food like that.

Oh.

Seems like we never get a chance to talk together anymore.

Oh, I've been busy. I've got a lot of my mind.

Nothing troubling you, is there?

Well, I suppose I shouldn't get my hopes up.

Why not?

It's... [ chuckles ]

It's almost too much to expect that a nobody like me...

You know what the poet said.

"Faint heart never won."

I'd be the happiest man in the world.

I wouldn't ask for another thing as long as I lived,

if only I could be elected chief of the Columbia Fire Department.

Well, I've gotta get going.

But you haven't had your dessert yet.

I made peach cobbler especially for you.

Can't wait. Engine company meets at 7:00.

Again? But you had one only night before last.

Oh, that was business. This is social.

Oh. Will there be ladies present?

[ chuckles ] Only Little Papeete, bless her.

The way you men carry on about that fool engine.

Like a bunch of boys with a new toy.

Papeete is no toy, I assure you, Miss Pellet.

Papeete is the latest in fire-fighting apparatus. Why, Papeete--

Papeete, Papeete, Papeete! I'm sick of the name!

It's all I've heard for weeks and months.

You can't talk about anything else or think about anything else.

Why, you can't even sit down and eat a decent meal anymore,

because you're so anxious to get back to that fool engine

and polish her brass and stroke her paint

and admire her shape!

That's twice now you've called Papeete "fool," and I won't stand for it.

I put up with your criticisms of me and my friends.

I've heard you disapprove of everything in the town of Columbia.

But when you start throwing insults at Papeete, by golly, that's going too far.

I can't help it.Then go live in Sonora, where they don't have a Papeete,

where they have to depend on an old-fashioned bucket brigade.

Go on. Live in a town that burns down regular.

See how you like it. And what's more,

you needn't make peach cobbler for me anymore, because I'm not coming back.

I'm taking my meals across the street at Mrs. Hoyle's,

wife of Fireman Hoyle.

Filo, you can't. Her cooking isn't clean.

I didn't mean what I said just now.

I just sort of flared up, and...

Where's he going in such a hurry?

Oh, another meeting of the engine company.

The way those men carry on about that fire engine,

like a bunch of kids with a new toy.

She's not a toy.

Papeete is the last word in fire-fighting apparatus.

Well, she'll be able to extinguish fires.

Will be? She's already put out one to the very last spark.

Oh, why didn't she go out to Tahiti

like she was supposed to,

and do her work among the heathens?

[ crying ]

♪♪ [ whistling ]

One keg of beer enough for 20 men?

There's more coming out.Good.

♪♪ [ whistling ]

Can't I go with ya?

No. This is a practice run.

But you're gonna have a beer party.

Stag.

[ bell clanging ]

Halt, men!

[ sighs ]

See how easy she is to handle? Even uphill.

[ laughs ] That's our baby, huh?

Oh, they've taken her out on a practice run.

Why does everyone call that engine "she"?

And then they're celebrating with a beer party up in the grove.

And if I know those men, they won't be home till way after dark.

So you're wasting your time around here, Kitty.

I got nothing else to do.

Mrs. Brady, how can you put up with it,

having your husband spend so much time with a fire engine?

My dear, I've been married 20 years,

and I am thankful it's only a fire engine.

[ men ] ♪ Oh, don't you remember sweet Betsy from Pike ♪

♪ Who crossed a big mountain with her lover, Ike ♪

♪ With two yoke of cattle, a large yellow dog ♪

♪ An old Shanghai rooster and one spotted hog ♪

♪ Saying, "Good-bye, Pike County, farewell for awhile ♪

♪ We'll come back again when we've panned out our pile" ♪

♪ Oh

♪ They soon reached the desert, where Betsy gave out ♪

♪ And down in the sand she lay rollin' about ♪

♪ While Ike in great terror looked on in surprise ♪

♪ Saying "Betsy, get up, you'll get sand in your eyes" ♪

♪ Saying, "Good-bye, Pike County, you can't send our mail ♪

♪ We're, all of us, ridin'

♪ The Ore-gon Trail

♪ As I was walking down the street ♪

♪ Down the street, down the street ♪

♪ A pretty girl I chanced to meet ♪

♪ Under the silvery moon

♪ Hangtown gals, won't you come out tonight ♪

♪ Come out tonight, come out tonight ♪

♪ Hangtown gals, won't you come out tonight ♪[ bell clanging ]

♪ And dance by the light of the moon ♪Hey! Papeete!

[ clamoring ]

[ bell clanging continues ]

Filo, don't!

You crazy fool! Look out![ yells ]

Watch out!

[ crashes ]

Oh, Miss Pellet! Miss Pellet!

Did you hear about the terrible accident?

What happened?Little Papeete got loose, ran away.

Filo tried to stop her, grabbed hold of a rope.

Filo?She ran right over him.

Oh, no. No. But he hung on.

Was dragged clear down the hill.

How badly was he hurt?I don't know.

They had to carry him back to town.

Where are the men?

In there with Filo.

How is he?

Why, I-I really don't know.

Oh, Mr. Brady, will he live?

We just held a...

kind of ceremony over him.

Elected him chief of the engine company.

Oh, Mr. Brady!

Nobody more deserving of it.

Risked his life to save Little Papeete.[ crying ]

All right, boys. Pack her in.

Now, don't cry, Miss Pellet. [ bell clanging ]

If there was only something I could do.

Oh, but there's nothing you can do.

Everything's gonna be all right.

Filo will be all right.

And as for Little Papeete... [ chuckles ]

she hasn't a scratch on her.

There must be something.

There must be! [ crying ]

We'll need the best-quality white satin

and real gold and silver thread.

Well, I used to be a seamstress.

I'll be glad to help with some of the plain sewing.Thank you, Mrs. Brady.

And I'll help with the embroidery. Splendid!

We'll get started right away and have it finished in no time.

Eight days' labor. That's what you're down for.

But you've got no right.

Why, everybody's doing their bit for the fire department, Judge.

Even the ladies are contributing.

Contributing what?Well, we don't know yet.

It's a surprise, to be presented at the engine house

this coming Saturday.

And so, gentlemen of the fire department,

I have been chosen to present you with this

as a sleight token of the esteem and admiration

of the ladies of Columbia--

the work of their hands and their hearts.

KITTY: "Presented to the Columbia Engine Company

"by the ladies of Columbia,

February the 22nd, 1861."

[ cheering ]

Champagne for everybody!

[ corks popping ]

Here.Oh, thanks.

Susan, what are you doing here?

She should've made the presentation.

It was all her idea.

She designed the banner and ordered the stuff,

and did a lot of the embroidery.

Just the word "Columbia."

Oh. Oh, Johnny!

I once said if they made me fire chief,

I'd never ask for anything else.

Well, I'm going to, right here and now.No, Filo, you mustn't.

Susan, will you marry me?

[ sighs ] I can't.

I love you.

You wouldn't if you knew.And you love me.

Please, Filo, listen. There's something I must tell you.

I've done a perfectly terrible thing.

If you'd been killed when Papeete ran away, it would've been my fault.

Susan...

Papeete didn't get away by accident.

I pushed the stone out from under her.

I wanted her to be smashed to pieces, I hated her so.

I should've been the one to have been killed. I wish I had.

[ sniffles ]

Well, anyway, now you know.

I wanted to tell you before I left for Sonora.

You're not going to Sonora.

I couldn't stay here and face everyone... after this.

No one else will ever know.

A husband and wife should have some secrets together.

Oh, Filo.

To you and me.

And little Papeete.

This picture you've just seen

was made right in the old gold camp of Columbia,

with little Papeete playing her own part.

The banner presented by the ladies back in 1861

is still on exhibit there in the museum,

but it's not for sale.

A famous Hollywood star offered $2,500 for it a few years ago

and was turned down flat.

♪♪ [ trumpet ]