(Above arcade cards courtesy of Don Swinford) Arcade cards were prevalent back in the 'old days' and pictures of western film stars and sidekicks were commonplace.  The above arcade cards are about 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches in size, and are from a series on the Lone Ranger, and I think the abbreviation M. B. S. stands for the Mutual Broadcasting System (radio network).  Is that Brace Beemer on the horse (he took over when Earle Graser was killed and was the voice of the LR for most of the program's run)?  One other tidbit relative to these cards --- see the 'Hi Ho Silver' on the horse card.  The generally accepted call by the LR to his trusty steed was 'Hi Yo Silver'.  My guess is that the 'Ho' was an error by the person who drafted/printed these. (From Old Corral collection) Above, heroine Lynn Roberts (aka Mary Hart in earlier screen activity in Roy Rogers films, and later as Lynne Roberts) points the way for Victor Daniels (Tonto) and Lee Powell (the Lone Ranger) in Republic Pictures' 1938 serial THE LONE RANGER. Note that in this first LR serial, Tonto's paint horse was called 'White Feller' (White Fellah), not 'Scout'.  Silver was portrayed by Silver Chief. (From Old Corral collection) Republic condensed the original THE LONE RANGER serial into a feature-length version titled HI-YO SILVER and released it in 1940. (From Old Corral collection) Above - Silver Chief was even given billing in both the Lone Ranger serials. (From Old Corral collection) Above, the unmasked Bob Livingston and Victor Daniels (Chief Thunder Cloud) in a scene from THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN (1939) chapterplay.  Silver was again portrayed by Silver Chief, and this time, Tonto's horse was named Scout to properly match up with the popular radio program. This paint horse was Sunny and was owned by Chief Thunder Cloud (you can find more info and photos of Sunny on the Chief Thunder Cloud page in the Trusty Steeds-Movie Horses section of the Old Corral). Scuttlebutt is that the white horse that Thomas Mitchell rode in GONE WITH THE WIND was Silver Chief. (From Old Corral collection) TV's LONE RANGER series featured Clayton Moore (above) as the Masked Man and Jay Silverheels as Tonto ... and Silver. John Hart did substitute for Moore during one season. (From Old Corral collection) Above, buckskin clad Jay Silverheels on two different Scouts during his days portraying Tonto in the LONE RANGER TV show.  Silverheels, whose real name was Harold J. Smith, was born in 1912 and passed away in 1980.

Tonto was a member of the Potawatomi tribe, as stated in a number of radio shows and comic books. The earliest show that I can recall where "White Feller" (White Fellah) is mentioned as the name of Tonto's horse is the March 2, 1938 program titled The Apache Kid (episode #795).

Tonto received the horse (to be known as Scout) in an August 5, 1938 radio program titled Four-Day Ride (episode #862), and the hoss was a gift to replace his earlier horse, "White Feller" (White Fellah). Scout (not yet given that name) was presented to Tonto by Chief Thundercloud (not the movie Victor Daniels/Chief Thunder Cloud, but simply a character of that name in the radio show). "White Feller" remained with the Chief to recover. In several subsequent shows, Tonto simply referred to his new horse as "paint horse".

However, in the September 2, 1938 episode #874 titled Border Dope Smuggling (sometimes titled Sheriff Sanders and the Smugglers), the paint horse helped uncover the leader of a smuggling ring, and there is some conversation about the paint horse being a "sure enough good scout". And Tonto expresses pleasure about that name - "Good Scout ... that good ... Tonto like Scout". In the standard LR program closing, the masked man yells "Hi-Yo Silver" and Tonto follows with "Get 'em up Scout". And the naming of Tonto's paint horse was complete.

These 1938 shows featured John Todd as Tonto (who played the part for all, or almost all, of the radio run), and Earle W. Graser as the LR. Graser was killed in an automobile accident on April 8, 1941 and was replaced by Brace Beemer, the announcer on the LR broadcasts.

From page 68 of Jack Mathis' Valley of the Cliffhangers (Jack Mathis Advertising, 1975) relating to THE LONE RANGER serial, which was filmed 11/28/1937 to 12/31/1937 and released 2/12/1938:

"Trendle delineated Tonto in the same general terms save that he was to be several inches shorter than the Lone Ranger, then meticulously described Silver as approximating the characteristics of an Arabian stallion not less than 15 1/2 hands high and White Fella --- Tonto's steed in the pre-Scout days --- as a pinto or paint breed of Indian pony."

From page 104 of Jack Mathis' Valley of the Cliffhangers (Jack Mathis Advertising, 1975) relating to THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN serial, which was filmed 12/9/1938 to 1/20/1939 and released 2/25/1939:

"... certain old school ties were retained: Billy Bletcher again dubbed the Lone Ranger's voice, Silver Chief was resaddled as Silver, and Chief Thunder Cloud reprised the role of Tonto, whose horse's name was changed from White Fella to Scout to agree with the same alteration effected in the radio show."