Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00From the archives of the United States Cavalry, the true stories of Colonel
00:12Randall McKenzie and the cavalrymen he led. McKenzie's Raiders. His secret orders
00:18from the President of the United States. Clean up the Southwest. Make it a fit
00:22place for Americans to live. Wipe out the renegades, outlaws, and murderers. If
00:27necessary, cross the Rio Grande. Knowing capture means hanging by the enemy.
00:32Discovery, court-martialed by the United States Army.
00:51The year 1873 and the introduction of a new army instrument of communication
00:57the heliograph, flashing messages across the vastness of the Texas frontier. It
01:04would help to tame a new land, aid in bringing security and safety to pioneer
01:09settlers. And to the men in Colonel McKenzie's command, isolated by sand and
01:15space, short on supplies, badgered by Indians and renegade marauders, the
01:20heliograph could become a lifeline to the outside world.
01:24October 13th, 1873. A convoy of munitions and a small detachment of cavalry moved
01:31south toward the Rio Grande. Their lives dependent on a mirror and a flash of
01:36sunlight. The message spelled danger. Hostile Comanches waiting in ambush
01:42ahead.
01:45So the lieutenant turned his convoy away from the main trail. Yes, to Colonel
01:55Randall McKenzie in command at Fort Clark, the heliograph could well become a
01:59lifeline.
02:08But instead, on this occasion, it became a death line.
02:14All right, let's shake it.
02:35All right, let's get started for Brackettville.
02:59That's Thompson, sir. We've been together ever since Gettysburg. Why were they off
03:04the main trail? I don't know, sir. The orders were specific. Follow the main
03:08trail all the way to Fort Clark. Somebody must have wanted those guns all
03:11mighty bad. Well, they wanted to keep them from the Mexican government. They're
03:15gonna have something to say about this, too. Well, maybe the convoy saw Indians
03:19and had to leave the main trail. Query the heliograph station. They probably
03:24can't see the canyon from up there, but query them anyway. I'll get the field
03:27unit, sir. Corporal? Yes, Colonel. Take a man and follow those wagon tracks. I'll
03:35join you later. Right, sir. Royce! All right, you men
03:41keep on with what you're doing.
04:27Right here, Sergeant. You realize this is the second shipment in a week we've lost?
04:39Yes, sir. I don't see why we got a rot here between jobs, Cort. I'm getting kind
04:55of sick of it. You can afford to get sick. The kind of money we'll be taking. I'm
04:59sighted on the station now, sir. All right, you know what to ask them. Yes, sir.
05:09Hold on. Somebody's flashing.
05:15It's McKenzie. Appears he's real curious what happened to his convoy. You gonna
05:19tell him? Oh, figure we ought to keep it a secret.
05:29T-I-V-E negative. Now, just as I thought, Sergeant. They saw those wagons turn into
05:40the canyon, they have no idea why. Sergeant, how long have Foster and Jenkins
05:46been up at that station? Oh, they went up last week, sir. Well, next week when they
05:52come down, put them on report. Carelessness. They forgot to acknowledge
05:55our word count. Yes, sir. They'll hear about it. Come on, let's take out after the
05:59corporal, see if he's found the remains of those wagons.
07:16Pick bone dry. Yep, this one too, sir. Well, it looks like the end of the line for today.
07:38Rocky country up ahead, almost impossible for trailing. Find the horses, get these
07:43wagons back to the fort. Yes, sir. Half a day of scouting and trailing, we're still up
07:50against a stone wall half the size of the state of Texas.
08:02You have had no word of the guns, amigo? I'm doing everything I can for you, Ramon.
08:07I've got three patrols out scouring the desert trying to recover those guns for
08:10you. This friendship between your country and mine, it is very new. Yes, the
08:20friendship between you and me is very old. True, we have a campaign together
08:25more than once. All the same, your president tells us we will have guns and
08:32munitions to fight the insurrectors, and the guns do not come. My president
08:37doesn't break his word. We must have those guns. And have them you will, if
08:41they haven't already fallen into the hands of the insurrectors. Here in your
08:45country... I'm not saying it's happened, I'm saying it can. Look, north of the Rio
08:51Grande, who would steal those guns except for money? South of the Rio Grande, who
08:56would have the money to buy them in such large quantities except the insurrectors?
08:59I tell you this, Colonel McKenzie, we have had incidents along the border, your
09:06people and mine, and we have settled them peacefully. But if those guns fall
09:11into the wrong hands, there will be more incidents, uglier ones. No one's broken
09:16faith with you, Colonel Bernal. You know that as well as I do. In the past you've
09:20asked us for supplies, we've given you supplies. Now you ask us for guns and
09:23munitions. We'll give you guns and munitions. Your words have a good sound,
09:27but they do not speak as loudly as guns. Nine of my men don't speak at all anymore
09:32because of those guns. They died trying to protect them. Do you think we've given
09:35you empty promises? Why don't you talk to the wives and families of those men?
09:40You're right, my friend. I was hasty in my anger, but only because of
09:47disappointment. Only because my soldiers need those guns and munitions so
09:52urgently. I know, I know. There's a third shipment coming down from the north
10:00tomorrow. I've instructed my heliograph stations to keep a watch for them. I'm
10:05riding out at dawn to join the convoy. Will you ride with me? Does the coyote
10:11not howl? Does the eagle not fly? Does Ramon Bernal not ride with his friend
10:17Mackenzie?
10:24Feels like Mackenzie's hanging all his hopes on the heliograph. Nice of him to
10:29keep sending us information. Sure is. His last message says that we've got to be
10:34extra careful. Watch out for them nasty outlaws that's been stealing them guns.
10:40When's the third shipment coming through? Tomorrow. Mackenzie herself is gonna be
10:45with him. Mackenzie? Why? Keep an eye on things, I suppose. What's the matter, Kohler?
10:54You scared? No. But, well, killing him. What I mean is with them others it didn't
11:01matter much. But we kill Mackenzie, the whole army will be on our necks. You want
11:08out of this one, Kohler? Well, why you listen to me, brave man? You know, you just got
11:17one way out. You want to try that way? You want to try that way? No, of course not,
11:22Drago. I was just funnin' with ya. You know, you've been getting all the gravy as it
11:29is. Me and Kort set this thing up. Me and Kort learned that code. Five years in the
11:36signal corps. Bustin' our backs for Mackenzie. And you don't want to see him dead? Well,
11:42I do. That's the part that's gonna pleasure me most. No, cut it out, Drago. Desertion
11:49in time of danger, that's how he said it. And we're gonna have us a little old possum
11:54hunt. And that possum's gonna be Drago. Well, they never caught that possum, mister.
12:00Of course, that possum just run and run and run. Till he got just plain sick of runnin'.
12:08And now that possum's got herself a gun. And he's gonna use it. What about tomorrow? The
12:17same way as before? Same way. But we'd better change the place. There's kind of a spot further
12:27south along the main trail. Instead of steerin' him into the canyon, let him come straight
12:33on. Me and the boys will be waitin'. Well, won't they suspect somethin' hittin' again
12:39so soon? We'll chance it. I wanna hear them guns firin'. At Mackenzie. All right, let's
12:47move it. Be sent up soon. We wanna get good seats to the show. Okay. Any sign of the convoy?
13:04Not yet. Maybe it ain't comin'. Oh, it'll come. You think Drago'll be ready for him?
13:09If I know Drago, he'll be ready. A lot readier than Mackenzie.
13:13I couldn't have picked a better spot if I tried. When Mackenzie gets here, he won't know what hit
14:09him. Happy to see you, Lieutenant. Thank you, sir. Any signs of trouble? None at all. We'll
14:22keep our eyes peeled. This shipment's gonna get through. Forward, hold!
14:38Morning, and the main trail south to Fort Clark. Dangerous country for a convoy of arms and
15:00munitions, vitally needed by the Mexican government. Guarding that shipment, Colonel
15:05Randall Mackenzie, aware that he protected more than guns. For on the convoy's success
15:11depended the growing friendship between his own country and Mexico. Cut that out. I'm
15:32trying to listen. Better walk, hold!
16:02Wagons. The way sound carries in these parts, I'd put a move, say, three, four mile, maybe less.
16:16Wait'll come easier now.
16:21Hey, will Mackenzie see it? Don't worry, I'll take care of it. Yep,
16:49court says they're in sight. Better get set for them.
16:52A message to us, sir? Get out the heliograph equipment. If it is a message, request a repeat.
17:06Lieutenant, have those wheels examined while we're waiting. Find the one that's dry and see
17:14that it's greased. Right away, sir. Is it wise to delay, amigo? Wiser to delay now,
17:20Ramon, than risk a breakdown further on.
17:44Hey, court. Yeah? Here, you read code, I don't. Huh, it's ending? It's starting to.
17:58Trouble, court? Nothing I can't wiggle out of. I guess that explains the flash you saw,
18:19sir. He says he was polishing his mirror. Mm-hmm. Acknowledge his word,
18:24get a report on the trail ahead. Yes. This heliograph is a very good thing, amigo. If
18:30there is any danger, your man will warn us. That's the theory. He reports the trail all
18:41clear, sir. That's what he reports, huh? The dry axle's greased, sir. Good. Have the rest
18:48of them greased. I should be back by the time you're ready to roll. If I'm not, wait for me.
18:52Yes, sir. With the colonel's permission, sir. Back from where? Twice in two days,
18:59he's broken regulations. Failed to acknowledge my messages with a word count. I'd be glad to
19:03take a trooper up there and chew him out, sir. I'd rather handle this myself, alone. I want to
19:08take the situation over without being observed. Lieutenant. Yes, sir? What did he mean by word
19:25count? To acknowledge the number of words in a message. Normal procedure, colonel. Oh. Because
19:32a heliograph operator did not follow regulations, this is cause to delay the guns for my troops?
19:37In Colonel McKenzie's outfit, sir, you don't make the same mistake twice. Not unless there's
19:44a good reason. That's funny. No sound of them now.
20:14What's the matter, boy? Getting itchy? If there's Drago is, he's flashing down there.
20:23I better tell him the wagon's stopped for repairs. Keep him from getting his quills up.
20:44Where are my men? Where are the men who operated this station? You killed them,
21:07didn't you? So you could ambush my convoys. It was Drago's idea. Who's Drago? He's down at the
21:12waiting for your wagons. Court says McKenzie must have found out. He's got a whole company
21:39coming up from the fort after us. Let's get out of here!
22:09Do you hear that, Lieutenant? Yeah, hoofbeats. A lot of them. And very rapid.
22:33Come on up and ride! Harbons and sidearms at the ready! Come on, south, deploy! Corporal,
22:44I'll take your horse. You stay here with the wagons. All right, you sensibly goats, let's ride!
24:02Now, Mr. Drago, I want to know where the rest of those guns are. Right now, Mr. Drago.
24:13For my country and for myself, I thank you, mi amigo. Those guns will save many lives. Good.
24:24By the way, I'm packing with them a set of heliograph instruments. They may come in handy.
24:29It is good to have such a friend. Oh, could you ride with me as far as Brackettville? Does not
24:37the coyote howl? Does not the eagle fly? Does not McKenzie ride with his good friend Bernal?
24:42McKenzie's Raiders did ride again and again, carrying out the secret orders of the President
25:01of the United States. Do whatever necessary to clean up the Southwest. Make it a decent
25:07place for people to live. Ride with McKenzie's Raiders as they relive the blazing pages of
25:13history in the making.
25:43© BF-WATCH TV 2021