Detail from 1940s Merita Bread advertisement; valued at $1,000.00 by scoop.diamondgalleries.com
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A teenaged Native American named Tonto (an Apache in the novels, a Potawatomi on the radio programs) barely survives a massacre by a renegade tribe that leaves his mother and sister dead. Young John Reid, coming upon the tragedy, rescues Tonto and gives him a horse. In gratitude, Tonto presents John with a ring. Years later, John Reid is the only survivor of an ambush of Texas Rangers by white outlaws. Coming upon the slaughter, Tonto discovers that Reid is still alive and nurses him back to health. Tonto recognizes Reid, who still wears the ring he had given him years before. Tonto buries the murdered rangers and digs a sixth grave so the outlaws will think that Reid has also died. Donning a mask, John Reid calls himself the Lone Ranger; he and his friend Tonto blaze a trail of justice in the early west.
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