Episode #141, Broadcast December 25, 1933
Plot: Rafael Gonzales is a wealthy Mexican aristocrat, a direct descendent of the Rafael Gonzales that once governed the state of Texas, before it became a part of the United States. His ranch is bounded on the North by the Rio Grande and extends many miles into Mexico. He longs for the cleaning up of Great Lizard Island, so called because of its shape and character, the much-feared raiders that have brought thieving and death to the ranch of Gonzales and the ranch of Hank Wilson and his wife (on the U.S. side). At the request of The Lone Ranger, 3,000 head of cattle of the Triangle Bar are herded by Hank Wilson to the Mexico border, then ushered into the water. The cattle cannot cross the raging current steadfast, making their way to the island so Tonto and The Lone Ranger create a stampede. Bound on both sides by the narrowness of Great Lizard Island, there is but one way for the cattle to travel, straight up the entire length of the island, sweeping with unstoppable force, through the thick underbrush, through the gullies and the secret hiding places of the renegades. The outlaws that inhabit the island are driven out like wild beasts from their places of concealment. They flee in terror before the thundering advance of the frantic herd and right into the hands of the vigilantes led by Gonzales and Wilson.
Episode #142, Broadcast December 27, 1933
Plot: The town of Prospect is situated in the foothills of the mountains that have had many people from all over the country stake their lives in the search for gold. Like a specter, a ruthless robber moved quickly and with catlike precision in the darkness of Ma Harvey’s house, found what he wanted, leaving the old woman dead, and vanished leaving no clue behind. Jim Thornton, a prospector who answers to the nickname of Buck, wanders into town to purchase provisions and finds himself picked up by Sheriff Pearson for the theft of $2,000 in gold dust and the murder of Ma Harvey. Sheriff Pearson is a fast-acting individual with so strong a sense of justice and punishment for crime that he oversteps himself from time to time. Mistaking Buck for Whitey Conklin, a notorious criminal wanted for multiple murders and thefts, the sheriff conducts a trial two days later and Buck is promptly found guilty. The Lone Ranger, witness to the entire affair, rescues Buck from a lynch mob and races the accused away on his great white horse. Tonto volunteers his tracking skills for the sheriff and a posse, chasing after The Lone Ranger. When the posse catches up with the accused, The Lone Ranger mentions that they crossed the border of Wabash County… out of the sheriff ’s jurisdiction. When the posse introduces themselves to Sheriff Stevens of Wabash County, they are shocked to learn that Whitey Conklin was hung yesterday (courtesy of The Lone Ranger) and the stolen gold was found on his possession, clearing Buck’s good name.
Episode #143, Broadcast December 29, 1933
Plot: Caliveras is the name of the rough and ready town that serves as the settlement for a few sincere hard-working prospectors and their families, a few café and store keepers, and many rough, quick shooting, hard-riding, straight-drinking men of the prairie. Among the residents is “Potluck” Simms, who makes a joke out of starting a landslide that destroys a teepee owned by the Apaches, breaking the leg of a newborn infant. While Potluck ignores the warnings of townsfolk, the Apaches perform the Snake Dance of War. Potluck scoffs at the notion that he caused what might mean bloodshed to the white population of Caliveras, by the incensed Indians. Potluck and his wife, Bessie, however, are promptly kidnapped by the Apaches. Despite the protestations of the local doctor, The Lone Ranger forces Doc Mulcahy to the Apache village to mend the baby’s leg as a Samaritan gesture. After witnessing a display of empathy from the white man, the Indian Chief agrees to a new start, avoiding bloodshed, saving the lives of Potluck and Bessie, who now have a deeper appreciation for their native neighbors.
Notes: This is not the only episode in which Tonto uses smoke signals to beckon for The Lone Ranger.
Episode #144, Broadcast January 1, 1934
Plot: When Randy Blackstone was appointed to take charge of the assay office at Black River, there was considerable comment by the prospectors that congregated here, including two named Zeke and Blink. Blackstone was new to the region and had done nothing to make himself liked. Quite the contrary, his stand-offish manner caused a number of boys to look on him with a somewhat suspicious eye. All the men seem to feel that old Dave Burton would be deserving of the job there, and they were all pretty sore to see Blackstone get the appointment. When The Lone Ranger discovers the former assayer was murdered and Blackstone hired a Mexican named Jose Del Lobo to do the deed, he fires gold into the ground using a shotgun and convinces Dave to stake a claim in what he thinks has potential. So does Blackstone, after examining the sample, who sends Jose out to follow Dave to discover where the claim is located… and kill the prospector. Jose never completes his mission, however, caught in the act of claim jumping. Threatening to kill in the presence of The Lone Ranger, Tonto and a handful of men from town remain hidden off the side as witnesses. Jose Del Lobo, panicking, confessed a great deal thus incriminating his partner. When he finished, there was no question that Blackstone planned to steal not only the supposedly rich claim of Dave, but others that had samples brought to the assay office as well. The sheriff makes his arrest and Dave is promptly given the job at the assay office.
NOTES: These plot summaries were reprinted from The Lone Ranger: The Early Years, 1933-1937, by Terry Salomonson and Martin Grams, Jr.
