The beginning of a day.
September 7th, 1878.
It dawned like any other day
on the Cheyenne reservation...
...in that vast barren land
in the American Southwest...
...which was then called
Indian Territory.
But this wasn't just
another day to the Cheyenne.
Far from their homeland...
...as out of place in this desert
as eagles in a cage...
...their three great chiefs
prayed over the sacred bundle...
...that at last,
the promises made to them...
...when the white man sent them here
more than a year ago...
...would today be honored.
The promises that had led them
to give up their own way of life...
...in their own green and fertile country,
- Good morning, Wichowsky.
- Troops all present or accounted for, sir.
Thank you.
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
Can I steal some of your coffee?
- Help yourself.
- Thanks.
Any news?
Here comes another name now.
- Senator.
- Great.
Looks like we're gonna be up
to our ears in congressmen.
Well, the more the better.
I wish every bigwig in Washington
could see this place.
Deborah, they're here already.
Lord knows when
the Congressional Committee will arrive.
I don't blame them for being early.
You and I know what this means
to them, uncle.
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J...
...K., L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S,
T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z.
Wonderful.
Come help me set the table.
Attention!
- Scott.
- Good morning, sir.
- Sergeant.
- Good morning, sir.
- Archer.
- Good morning, sir.
- Indians, huh?
- Yep.
Any word
from the Congressional Party?
They haven't left Fort Scott yet.
Well, let me know. Keep me advised.
Yes, sir.
Wichowsky, put the men at ease.
Let them smoke...
...if they've got anything to smoke,
which I doubt.
At ease!
You're ready to smoke!
- Good morning, friend Thomas.
- Good morning, friend Deborah.
Well, now, where have you been
hiding that dress?
That's pretty stylish for a Quaker.
I made it just for this great day.
It's mighty pretty.
Do you know when they'll arrive?
Well, you can't expect speed
from congressmen...
...but they ought to be here
any minute now.
Well, I'd offer to help you,
but I can see you don't need it.
Oh, don't I, now?
Well, the leg on the senator's chair
seems to be stuck.
Senator, huh?
Well, let's see what's wrong.
There we are.
All neat and tidy for the senator.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome. Anytime.
Friend Deborah,
where do you want the senator's chair?
I think I'll put him
at the head of the table.
He'd like that.
Plumtree, go down the road.
Let us know when those gentlemen
from the East arrive.
Hour after hour
they waited under the hot sun.
Waited for the moment
when their prayer would be answered.
When the white chiefs from Washington
would see for themselves...
...how the Cheyenne
had been forgotten.
- Archer!
- Yes, sir.
When is that blasted party
coming anyway?
- I don't know, sir.
- You don't know, sir.
- Hey, you.
- Sir.
Any news on that party
from the East yet?
No. No, sir. Nothing since 11:30.
Eleven-thirty?
- Do you realize it's 5:30 now?
- Yes, sir.
Archer, see what he wants.
Plumtree.
I ain't a-getting paid for thinking, sir
but I don't think them folks is a-coming.
Just came in from Fort Reno, sir.
I'll be damned!
"Congressional Committee delayed
by bumpy roads and dust storms.
Decided to return to Reno in order
to rest up for the Officers' Ball tonight."
You mean
they're not coming here at all?
How long do they expect me to wait
to build some barracks out here?
Archer, I'm going to Fort Reno,
see to it.
Friend major, please...
...will you tell them about the medicine
and the food the Indians need?
And all the things
that were promised?
Uncle, you must make him listen.
How can I?
You know what he thinks of Quakers.
You've been here from the beginning.
You've watched them die of smallpox
and measles and malaria.
You've watched them starve.
Haven't you anything to say?
Nothing that you can't say better.
Major Braden!
I'm asking you to plead for justice.
I'm asking you to make them realize...
...that over a thousand Cheyenne
were brought here...
...and only 286 are left alive.
Miss Wright, my responsibility to
the Indians is only to guard them.
When you have reached my age,
you will have realized...
...that it pays to stick
to your own knitting.
That's exactly what I intend to do.
Dull Knife! Little Wolf!
What happened today
changes nothing.
The Indian Bureau
is still pledged to provide you...
...with adequate clothing and rations.
You are still pledged
to abide by the law.
Remember that.
We are asked to remember much.
The white man remembers nothing.
You spoke the truth for us.
This we will not forget.
But there will be no more school.
Oh, no.
Oh, no, please don't do that
to the children.
The white man's words are lies!
It is better that our children
not learn them.
It is not the words,
but who speaks them.
Has speaking white men's words
made you a liar?
Our words were learned long ago.
When some white men
still spoke truth.
And so began, what to most people...
...must seem to be
only a footnote in history.
It ain't in my department, sir...
...but looks to me
like them kids is a-playing hooky.
You're gonna be pretty lonesome,
friend School Teacher.
No scholars.
They'll come.
When?
Spanish Woman!
Friend Deborah, leave this place.
Friend Thomas, you know
I came here to carry out a task.
I can't leave now.
Bunking in this schoolhouse
won't help.
It will show them
that I'm on their side.
Not unless you can change color.
You know what they call whites?
- And veho means "spider"!
- Means "spider"!
That's right.
- That's what they think of all of us.
- And why shouldn't they?
How many Cheyennes have you fought?
How many have you killed?
Deborah, look, will you take
the blinders off just for once?
You claim no self-respecting Quaker
could fall in love with a soldier...
...but you've fallen in love
with a whole tribe of them.
Have you ever seen a Cheyenne?
- Of course, I have.
- No, you haven't!
All you've seen is reservation Indians,
looking pitiful as fish out of water.
But give them a chance, they're
the greatest fighters in the world.
Will you listen to me?
It takes a blue coat to make
a white man a soldier.
But a Cheyenne is a soldier
from the first slap on his bottom.
War is his life.
He's fierce, he's smart.
And he's meaner than sin.
Possibly you can only think of the past,
but I'm here to think about the future.
All right.
You think of the future.
Want some help?
I'll manage.
Better keep that lamp lit tonight.
And if anything happens,
ring the bell.
- Little Wolf.
- Yes?
- What's happened?
- This is not the place for you.
Spanish Woman...
...where are they going?
- Home.
- Home?
What you call Yellowstone country.
What about the children?
They are Cheyenne.
But who will care for them?
We will do what we can.
They are Cheyenne.
Dull Knife, the old chief
is much too sick.
He'll never make such a trip.
Let...
If he lives to ride
even a mile closer to home...
...he will die as a man should.
There will be no more dying
in this place.
They've skipped.
Thank God.
What the hell do you mean by that?
I've waited since I was 10 years old
for this chance.
Then you're a damned idiot.
I want D Troop ready
and mounted in 10 minutes.
E Troop and wagons to follow
under your command.
No artillery. Plumtree!
- Come here!
- Yes, sir!
E Troop and train reporting, sir.
You brought the wagons
along too fast, Mr. Scott.
Draft animals can't stand it.
They can rest up tonight.
They can?
Well, that's an assumption
you had no right to make.
We're gonna keep moving.
That's fine with me, sir.
- Scott, tell me something.
- Sir?
What put the blood in your eye?
It's just a private matter, sir.
Nothing that affects
an officer's conduct is private.
My father died
in the Fetterman Massacre back in '66.
Mother and I were at the fort
when they brought his body in.
I was only 10 years old.
Until that time,
I never wanted to be a soldier.
Well, that doesn't give you
a personal license to kill Indians.
The job of this Army
is to keep the peace.
I understand, sir.
You do, huh?
Well, just make sure you understand...
...these Cheyenne broke no law
when they left the Agency.
And they won't
unless they cross the river.
So if you provoke trouble...
...Ill see that you lose
those shoulder straps...
...if I have to tear them off myself.
Understood?
Understood, sir.
Mr. Scott!
Sir?
I knew your father.
- Guide on!
- Sir.
Troop, halt!
Prepare to dismount!
Prepare to dismount!
Dismount!
- Sir!
- Yes.
Are you going to let them jump
the reservation right bef?
They haven't jumped the reservation.
They haven't crossed the river yet.
- Sir, I most respectfully object to...
- Put it in writing.
Join your troop, mister.
Sir.
No. No, thanks.
Spanish Woman, what's happening?
I think war.
Spanish Woman, speak to Dull Knife.
He'll listen to you.
I can do nothing.
Nothing.
- School teacher.
- Little Wolf, you promised...
Take the children, join the others.
Troop, halt!
Troop, halt!
- Plumtree.
- Sir?
I don't like the look of it.
Take a look up that canyon.
- Yes, sir.
- Jones, you cover him.
Jones!
Name's Smith, sir.
Oh, well, go on up with him. Go on!
- All right?
- Yes, sir.
But that canyon there
is plumb full of Indians.
- On ride into line! Yo!
- Hey, Smitty, wait a minute.
On ride into line! Yo!
You've got a lot to explain
to a court martial, Archer.
Sergeant...
Cannon's ready?
Forward on the double!
Cannon forward on the double!
Prepare to dismount!
- Prepare to dismount!
- Dismount!
Now!
Motion!
All soldiers to the rear!
All soldiers to the rear!
Stop!
- Major, I've got to tell you...
- Go back to your troop.
...the majority of those people
are women and children!
- Maybe 50 or 60 warriors.
- Archer, you're under arrest.
Number one gun, fire!
Number two gun, fire!
Fire number one.
Fire.
Cease firing!
Where's the major?
- Is he?
- Yes, sir.
They're angry because my son fired
the first shot.
Does it ever matter
who fires the first shot?
Those dirty, murdering...
- The major's dead, sir.
- Pick up the horses.
- I said, the major's dead, sir!
- Shut up!
Aren't you gonna give them a?
Plumtree, Brown,
get the horses off the wagons.
- Yes, sir.
- Yo.
- Name's Smith, sir.
- All right, get to work!
My son says,
"The soldiers do not follow."
Dull Knife, you know the soldiers
will have to follow us.
Have you thought what will happen
to your wife and son?
There will be war.
- Little Wolf.
- These are my wives.
I pray the young one
will give me sons.
But I want them to be born where I
and all my people before me were born.
Even a dog can go where he likes...
...but not a Cheyenne.
You may go where you like.
No.
No.
No.
But...
The report
from the Army's field telegrapher...
...to headquarters in Omaha listed
only nine casualties incurred...
...in the troop's first encounter
with the homeward-bound Cheyenne.
But by the time it came off
the press in Kansas City...
...somehow it had
mysteriously grown to 29.
And suddenly it expanded
to 59, 69, 109...
...when the news reached
the tiny hamlets of the Western Plains.
Meanwhile, the Army was frantically
deploying troops along the 1200 miles...
...that still lay between the Cheyenne
and their homeland.
The railroads they had to cross
were patrolled.
River crossings watched.
The alarm was spreading
through the West.
Settlers crossing the plains
demanded Army escorts.
Or they rushed frantically
to the safety of Army posts.
No one asked how many Indians
had escaped.
The word Cheyenne was enough.
And in Washington heated words
echoed through the Halls of Congress.
The Department of the Interior
was crowded...
...with western railroad tycoons,
mine owners and land speculators.
All such people to whom Indian scares
meant lost dollars.
While the generals came
to fix the blame on Carl Schurz...
...the Secretary of the Interior.
In his misguided effort to eliminate
corruption in the Indian Bureau...
...it was Mr. Schurz who had brought
in the Quakers.
And to the Army
it was obviously the Quakers...
...who had encouraged
the Cheyenne to rebel.
In all the land there was not one voice
raised in behalf of the Cheyenne until...
In The Sun, the Times, Chronicle.
Take your pick. They're all saying
the same things we're saying:
"Bloodthirsty savages on the loose.
Burning, killing,
violating beautiful white women!"
It's not news anymore.
We're gonna take a different tack.
From now on, we're going to grieve
for the noble red man.
We'll sell more paper that way.
Now, see to it!
But by now any rumor
could be believed.
Because suddenly the news
from the West had stopped.
The Cheyenne and their pursuers
had disappeared into the emptiness...
...and silence
of the thinly populated continent.
- Mr. Secretary.
- Come in. Come in.
Good afternoon, Mr. Secretary.
Now, no matter
what you may have heard...
We assure you there's nothing personal
about our proposed legislation.
The entire Senate
has the greatest respect for you...
...you know that.
But all I know is that you're trying
to snatch the Indian Bureau away...
...from my department
and hand it over to the Army.
Mr. Senator?
Have you ever seen a Cheyenne?
An Arapaho? Any Indian?
Have you ever been west
of the Mississippi River?
- What are driving at, sir?
- Well, just this.
Why are three eastern senators
suddenly so concerned about Indians?
Well, it's strictly
a matter of economy.
The Army has to be out there anyway.
Oh, so that's all it is.
I was afraid perhaps that some
of the dollar patriots...
...who are sleeping on my doorstep
might have been sleeping on yours.
Sir, are you questioning
our honesty of purpose?
No more than I question theirs.
Their honest purpose
is to grab every acre of land...
...the Indians once thought
they owned.
You can't say that's Army policy.
Well, I can say it amounts
to the same thing.
The smaller the reservations,
the easier they are to guard.
You let the Army have its way...
...and they'll end up the size
of postage stamps.
Exactly what the land-grabbers want.
We'll be late
for that committee meeting.
- Excuse us, Mr. Secretary.
- Oh, Henry.
You and I fought together
at Gettysburg...
...yet you'd never even seen
a Negro slave.
All you ever knew...
...is that they were human beings
with the rights of human beings.
And it was worth an arm to you.
Carl, I'll stall this legislation, but
unless those Cheyenne are found soon...
...or if you make one false move,
God help you.
God help me.
Leave us.
When Little Wolf speaks veho words
they are for my ears alone.
This I say:
We have always thought as one.
Never has the thickness
of a straw come between us.
We still think as one.
As war chief...
...I may raise my hand only
against the enemy.
We still think as one.
That is why
I must sleep with no wife...
...saving all my strength for a fight
against the soldiers.
But your son...
...tries to steal my youngest wife.
This cannot be.
He is of my blood.
And my blood has never been bad.
He is of your blood...
...but he is not you.
Troop, halt!
Troop, halt!
Sergeant.
Mr. Scott.
Unlimber the guns!
If we attack,
I think we're in for a beating.
- Here's what I want...
- Their backs are to the wall!
And a lot of flat land to cross
before we get there.
I'd rather force them to attack us.
- Well, they ain't done nothing
foolish yet. - I know.
- Take D Troop, get on their flanks.
- Sir.
Mr. Scott, dismount half of E Troop
to protect the guns and wagons.
Then you move out with the rest
to cover the right flank.
Yes, sir.
And remember, Mr. Scott...
...the trick to being brave
is not to be too brave.
- Any questions?
- No questions, sir.
Right.
Plumtree, Murphy, take the point!
Take the point. Yo!
A little faster on there, come on.
Hurry up there.
You all right?
Well, yes, sir.
On left, to the line.
Forward at the walk. Yo!
Walk trot!
- What in the hell is that kid doing?
- As you were.
What the hell is he doing?
Canter!
Company, charge!
Mr. Scott!
Scott!
Damn you!
Front left, into line!
Yo!
Prepare to dismount.
- Get the guns out!
- They're at the wagons.
- Get the guns. Move!
- Yes, sir.
- Come on, move it.
- Come on.
- Get them out of there.
- Let's go.
Come on. Come on.
Get out of there.
Mr. Scott!
- I told you to cover that flank.
- I'm sorry, sir.
From now on, you don't scratch
till I itch, is that clear?
Yes, sir.
Plumtree, Thompson.
Here, let me help.
Sir...
Despite the Indian scare,
an occasional cattle herd...
...still came up the Chisholm Trail
from Texas...
...to the railhead
in Dodge City, Kansas.
Sometimes the hungry Cheyenne...
...were able to pick up
a few stray cows.
And sometimes they even begged
for charity from the tough trailhands.
Yo, there.
Jessie, Homer, Shug.
Come here. Come here.
Hey, come on. Come here.
Slow down.
Lookit there.
Real blanket-head Injuns.
I sure would like to have me
that little paint.
And I sure would like
to kill me an Injun.
Can't you gut-eaters
talk any Texican?
Yes, sir. I'd sure love
to kill me an Injun.
I dare you, Homer.
- You dare me?
- I dare you.
I always wanted
to kill me an Injun.
All them old-timers back home...
...a- hoorahing about
how many scalps they've took.
Jessie, that's one of them there,
one of them there Cheyenne.
We better skedaddle
and get that herd out of here.
- Let's go.
- Not till I get my scalp, we won't.
G-O-O-D. Good.
G-O-O. Good.
G-O-O-D. Good.
Good.
Where are you taking my colt?
Let go of my colt!
My colt, my colt!
Always, they had to move through
unwanted and desolate country...
...where the chances of detection
and capture were fewer.
And there the land was poor
and wild game rare.
Always, hunger baited their heels
more fiercely than the soldiers.
What is it?
I don't understand.
A, B, C, D.
Buffalo.
Buffalo.
Do you remember
what a buffalo looks like?
Soon, she will see one again.
Many, many.
Always, they come from the north.
Before the cold.
Always over same ground.
Then our bellies will be full again.
Bellies will be full
and no longer will we be alone.
Our friends, the Dakota?
Sioux?
Will be coming south with the buffalo.
Always, it is so.
It's got to be soon.
Very, very soon.
And then in one tragic instant...
...after 500 miles
and many weeks of desperate flight...
...hope was gone.
The white hunters
had been there first.
Slaughtering the buffalo
not for food...
...but for hides.
The hungry Cheyenne
now stood alone.
Extra! Extra! Latest on the red devils.
Cheyennes attack settlers
and massacre them!
Extra! Read all about it. Extra!
- Dog!
- Guinevere!
- Dog Kelly.
- Guinevere Plantagenet.
- Good to see you.
- Welcome to Dodge City.
- Ladies.
- Girls.
Come on, come on in.
Cards, gentlemen, if you please.
Ace.
King. And a jack. Ace bets.
- Check.
- Wait a minute.
How come you check
with an ace showing?
Oh, was that an ace?
I'm blind as a bat.
Now, marshal, you can see right through
to my ace in the hole.
- What's your ace worth, major?
- Check.
Five dollars for a start.
Call?
Call.
Card.
- Ace, deuce.
- Mingle, girls.
- Champagne here.
- Oh, no, no. Just a slug of rye.
Ace. Jack...
Say...
- Isn't that Wyatt Earp?
- Sure, over in the corner playing poker.
Excuse me, mayor.
- Miss Plantagenet.
- Major.
Now, there's a real royal name,
gentlemen...
...and a noble lady.
- You bet 25 bucks?
- Dr. Holliday?
- Wyatt?
- Hi.
Last year, back in Wichita...
Don't do that. Don't do that.
Get your hands off the cards.
You thought this was
the prettiest dress you ever saw.
Why, you couldn't take
your eyes off it.
Yeah. That was when I was 10 high.
Now, I'm ace high.
- Doc, what do you do?
- I drop.
Would you like to join us, madam?
Madam?!
Are you gonna sit there
and let this tin horn insult me?
- What kind of a marshal are you?
- Just you...
Doc Holliday, now come on,
now apologize to the lady.
- I'll call.
- Forgive me, mademoiselle.
What the hell kind of talk is this?
Well, as I understand it,
a mademoiselle is a madam...
...who ain't quite made it yet,
only younger and friskier.
I'd call it a compliment.
- You're out, huh?
- Oh, you would, would you?
Our brave marshal!
Why, he won't even protect
a lady from an insult.
Wyatt Earp.
You sure got a great way
with women, Wyatt.
Yeah, the only trouble is, she thinks
she knew me back in Wichita...
...and I just plain can't remember.
That makes for
a very embarrassing situation.
All right, the deuces bet,
bet the whole lot.
Hey!
How many men
will this leave at the fort?
Oh, about a corporal's squad.
A corporal's squad?
Oh, don't worry, mayor,
we'll cut them Indians down to our size.
Why, you can't leave
this town unprotected like this.
Well, listen, I tell you
I'm gonna have your command...
We'll see you when we get back.
I tell you, I'm gonna write
to Washington.
And when they get my letter...
...you can't leave a town
like this unprotected.
Aren't horses in here a bit unusual?
What horses?
You betting or not?
Ten.
We're dry as a bone.
Bottle of bitters there.
You sound Texas.
We ain't heard any Texas
around here for quite a while.
Extra! Extra! Latest in the Cheyennes.
Commit murder and pillage.
Extra! Extra! Eyewitness report.
- Cheyennes commit murder...
- What's you fellas' hurry?
You rushing for a train?
The fort.
We got a-plenty to tell them soldiers.
Plenty and then some.
You hear that? You're too late.
All but a corporal's guard
has gone west to fight the Cheyenne.
What? Them damn fools.
Mister, we just fought off them
murdering devils, southeast of here.
But we showed them how the cow eats
the cabbage, didn't we, boys?
If you don't believe it,
take a look at that.
After they killed poor Pete we was like
the Lord and his avenging sword.
Injuns, huh?
Just southea... Well, Indians.
Wyatt.
Wyatt, you gotta listen to me.
Wyatt, you gotta listen to me!
Quiet down there. Shut up!
- What's he saying?
- Something about Indians.
You plan on putting up one of them
wooden Indians out front?
That'd look real nice.
Give this place some tone.
Wyatt, listen. The Army's pulled out
and we're all about to be massacred!
- That Wyatt...
- Wyatt Earp.
Yeah, I know.
- You know, that deck feels light.
- Don't look at me.
I sometimes decorate cards.
I never steal them.
Wyatt, have you read a paper in a week?
Well, just listen to this:
"Several herders murdered.
Farmhouses burned down.
Straggling bands of Indians
raiding everywhere.
Immigrant trains robbed."
Wyatt. Wyatt.
- Over there are four Texans who just...
- That is light.
There are just 51 cards in that deck.
Are you claiming you can judge
the weight of one single card?
- Count them.
- Wyatt.
- The fate of this city rests in our hands.
- Your hands.
- Strike me dead if there aren't 51.
- Let me see them.
Oh, it's not just the town,
it's business.
Now, you all know
that we depend upon them Texans...
...coming up here
with wages in their pockets.
They haven't been coming up
as much as they've been.
And if this kind of stuff keeps up,
they won't be coming at all.
Bless my soul.
Fifty-one.
Now, major, you were the last one
to shuffle that deck...
...and where's that card?
Every citizen of Dodge
stands ready to go out...
Gentlemen, I swear, I didn't palm it.
- Major, where is the card?
- Wyatt...
If we shoot him, we won't have
anyone left to play with.
- Gentlemen.
- It's a good point. A new deck.
Now, mayor, about all these things
you read in the newspaper.
Now, did you ever in your whole life
read anything true in that paper?
You calling me a liar?
Take a look at them apples.
Well, you fellas drove
a herd up here, where is it?
We got them grazing
about a mile outside of the town here.
Well, if you'd run
into a flock of Cheyenne...
...your herd would be bulging
in Cheyenne bellies by this time.
Then you are calling me a liar.
- Gentlemen, I open for 10.
- You gonna take that back or ain't you?
- I'll see that and I'll raise it.
- Answer me!
I don't give a damn
if you are the best gunslinger in Kansas.
Take that back now!
- Ace checks.
- I'll bet 20.
I don't doubt your word.
I just question your eyesight.
You question my eyesight too, mister?
Kings say 20.
I'll up you 20.
Something smells of fish. I draw.
Wyatt, come on.
That's an order. You too, Holliday.
Are you still calling me a liar
or ain't you?
I'd purely love to have your scalp too.
Now, Texas, you're just talking
yourself straight into the calaboose.
Not me...
Your deal, marshal.
Wyatt! Wyatt!
That fella's bleeding all over
the place, the bullet's still in his foot.
I seen you operate on a horse once
and you gonna give him a hand.
It's awful noisy in here.
What about you?
- I'm out.
- You're out. And you?
- I raise.
- You raise. All right, I'll see you...
...and raise you 20.
- Oh, why did you shot him?
All right. A fella just wants
a little friendly game of poker...
While you're thinking it over, major...
All right, come on.
Put him up on the bar.
Oh, no, Wyatt, not the bar!
He'll bleed all over it!
Take him outside.
Put him on his horse.
It's genuine mahogany, Wyatt!
Blood will stain it. Take him out, please!
- All right, put him up on the bar.
- No, not the bar. He'll bleed all over.
- Take him outside. Put him on his horse!
- Take me home!
- All right, shut up!
- This is genuine mahogany from St. Louis.
It's gonna stain.
Don't you cowpokes
ever wear any socks?
I do. Occas... Every once in a while.
- Jessie.
- Put them down there.
- Here.
- Thank you. Thank you Miss?
- Plantagenet.
- Wichita, huh?
Thank you. Would you hold
that bottle up, miss?
Hold it up high. Now you, I want you
to keep your eye right on that bottle.
Don't even blink.
It's kind of like hypnotize.
Keep your eye right on, Homer.
Keep your eye right on the bottle.
You're not gonna even feel it.
Give me the bottle again.
One side, please.
What if that ash fell by mistake?
Wyatt might shoot you, by mistake.
There it is. Miss, may I?
All right, take him away.
Hey, wait a minute.
There you are. Good as new.
Hey, Dog, you missed one.
Hey, hey, come on, come on.
Come on. Get out.
- Essex, sir.
- Archer.
- Coffee, sir?
- Coffee.
Here's the answer
to your message, sir.
- Help yourself.
- Thanks.
- Important?
- Usual thing.
No reinforcements available.
Well, didn't you tell them
your company's in no shape to fight?
Yes, sir, I told them
we're all scattered up and down the line.
I haven't even seen the captain
in two days.
There've been too many
of these false alarms.
We'll have to wait until we can swear
we saw them trying to cross the tracks.
- If they haven't crossed already.
- They can't have done that.
Nobody could,
not even a rabbit could get through.
You're not talking about Cheyenne.
Well, tomorrow come sunup I'm sending out
my own patrols, both sides of the river.
With 900 miles still to go
to reach their northern home...
...the Cheyenne suddenly faced
a hazard they had never heard of.
The long line of steel rails
were as the bars of a prison.
Well, what do you think you're doing?
Have a snort.
Where the hell did you get that?
- See that nice, shiny boot?
- Yeah.
Captain What's-His-Name
is an infantry officer.
A doughfoot.
Now, why do infantry officers
need nice, shiny boots?
I'll bite, why?
To hide whiskey bottles in.
Look, sergeant.
You sober up and be ready to move out
when I give you the word...
...or you're Mr. Wichowsky.
Sonny?
Sonny.
It's plain to see you ain't the officer
you used to be.
- No.
- Or you'd know my enlistment expired...
...as of 10 days ago.
Thirty years.
Thirty years and 10 days.
Thank you. Thank you.
You're talking to Mr. Wichowsky.
So climb off that high horse...
...and drink me a little toast.
No, no.
You climb off your high horse
and you get ready to sign this.
You're re-enlisting as of right now.
- Oh, no, I ain't.
- Oh, yes, you are.
- You wanna know why?
- Why?
- I'm a Pole.
- Really?
You know what they have
in Poland besides Poles?
- What have they got?
- They've got Cossacks.
- You know what a Cossack is?
- What?
A Cossack is a man on a horse...
...with a fur cap on his head
and a saber in his hand.
Now he kills Poles
just because they're Poles.
Like we're trying to kill Indians
just because they're Indians.
I was proud
to be an American soldier.
But I ain't proud to be a Cossack.
Wichowsky,
you've fought Indians before.
I fought Indians
who wanted to fight me.
Not just some poor, starving
blanket-heads trying to go home!
All right, Mr. Wichowsky.
Did you say you had a drink for me?
Well, sure, Tom.
Thank you very much, Stanislaus.
See you around.
Hey, doughfoot,
seen any Indians around?
They must've skedaddled when they heard
you manure-spreaders was coming.
"Manure-spreader."
Hey, wait a minute.
Hey, Smitty, can you read?
Well, sure I can read.
And write.
"Deborah Wright.
Her book."
- Sir.
- Yes?
- Sir, we...
- Well, speak up, Murphy.
We found this in the river.
Means they've crossed.
What, sir?
- Trumpeter. Boots and saddles.
- Sir.
Good luck, sir.
Well, good morning, Mr. Wichowsky.
Sergeant Wichowsky, sir,
reporting for duty.
- Sign me in.
- Sign it yourself. I'm busy.
Troop forward at the canter. Yo!
And so the pursuit continued...
...across changing terrain
and changes of season...
...the pursuers sometimes almost
as hungry and exhausted as the pursued.
Halt! Who goes there?
Mr. Scott!
Well.
Lieutenant Scott
reporting for duty, sir.
Did the surgeon release you?
I slipped away, sir.
And how about
this government horse?
Well, he slipped away too, sir.
I see.
- You know something, Mr. Scott?
- What, sir?
You might make a soldier after all.
- Well, thank you, sir.
- You're welcome.
- Wichowsky.
- Sir.
- Boots and saddles.
- Boots and saddles?
- Boots and saddles.
- Boots and saddles.
What's the matter, sir?
Fort Robinson is near here.
- If we go there...
- You are saying...
...there is no hope of victory.
We will die
before we reach our homeland.
There was hope in your heart
when we started.
Where has it gone?
Maybe the hunger
clawing at our bellies...
...has clawed my hope away too.
Why was I given this?
Why?
To lead our people home.
If we go on, the children will die.
If we go to Fort Robinson...
...you will speak for us?
Yes, of course.
The straw has come between us.
Yes.
Now our people must choose...
...who they want to follow.
And so in the grim north
of Nebraska...
...with less than 700 miles to go...
...and over 800 miles
of pain and hunger behind them...
...the Cheyenne nation broke apart.
Off to your right, now.
Off to your right.
That way.
- Cheyenne, sir.
- Good. Good. Feed them.
Find shelter for them.
And give them good fire.
Make them comfortable.
Sir.
Yeah, yeah.
This will make me a major.
Would you be pulling the curtain?
That must have been a terrible,
terrible journey.
Well, it's exhaustion and malnutrition.
Oh, it's a horrible leg altogether.
But we'll feed her and keep her warm.
And I'm afraid, after a while,
I'm going to have to operate.
I wish...
I wish I were a better doctor.
Captain Archer, sir.
Captain Oskar Wessels.
Well.
There are your Cheyenne.
Yeah, yeah.
You are right, Captain Archer.
Fenimore Cooper
knew little about Indians...
...but his books
first made me interested in them.
Here.
Half the volumes you see here
are about Indian life...
...and culture,
though no one else will read them.
Captain Wessels neglects to mention
that most of them are written in German.
So, captain, you don't believe
that the Indian should be wiped off...
...the face of the earth
along with the buffalo?
Nein, no, of course not.
Miss Wright,
it has been much too long...
...since we could enjoy
a lady's presence.
Here... Does cigar smoke bother you?
Friend Captain, I'm so happy to be warm
and comfortable...
...that nothing could bother me.
Yes?
Excuse me.
Headquarters, sir. Urgent.
Stand by.
"Omaha.
Cheyennes
are to be kept under restraint...
...and then returned south
as soon as escort troop has arrived."
But they surrendered voluntarily.
Oh, this is simply a military routine.
They escaped from a reservation...
...and are to be returned there.
- Murder's not routine.
These people could never
survive that march in the dead of winter.
Excuse me.
Captain Archer, I feel as you do,
but this is an order.
An order.
- Mr. Peterson.
- Sir?
Warehouse is empty,
we can put them there.
Captain, the fort area
is restraint enough.
Where can they even try to go
in this weather?
This order came to me
and to me is the responsibility.
I can take no chances.
You claim to be a doctor.
You gonna let him put those women and
children in a warehouse at 10 below zero?
What are you gonna do about it?
What are you gonna do about it?
As ordered, sir.
Orders are orders.
Well, this time we ain't the Cossacks.
Well?
I'm commander of this post.
All messages
must be cleared through me.
I read your report, captain.
It doesn't begin to give a picture
of this situation.
Well, one must be tactful
with higher authority.
- Would you have me call them "fools"?
- No.
I'd have you tell them the truth.
They have given me an order.
An order.
I questioned it once,
it will not be questioned again.
Accept no more messages
from this officer.
He'll accept this one
because you can't refuse to allow it.
I have a month's leave.
I'm requesting two weeks of it.
Why? Why at this time?
I'm not required to tell you why.
- Lock the door.
- Lock the door?
- I said, lock the door!
- Sir...
Never mind!
You, Dull Knife.
You and your people will be prepared
to start south in the morning.
We will not go back.
You have no other choice.
If you try to force us...
...first I die.
We will not go back.
Who in here speaks English?
Besides this? This chief?
Yes?
You?
Yes.
You will tell your people...
...that I've tried to get the order
delayed until spring.
But the order stands.
However...
...I will provide additional wagons
for the sick and feeble.
And you will further tell them
that their chief...
...this chief is brave, but no longer wise.
They must obey just as I obey.
They will not go back.
Life there is not life.
They will die here.
Authority must and will be obeyed.
They will die here.
There will be no more food, no more water.
And...
And no more firewood...
...until they change their minds.
They will not go back.
- Hello.
- Hello, captain.
- She's not gonna lose her?
- No, no. Not at all.
Not at all.
You know,
I was a good surgeon once.
See that?
I haven't had a drink in a week.
- Amazing.
- God's truth.
- Take a look at himself, will you?
- Hello, Scott.
Hello, sir.
Aye, just pneumonia, all right.
But he's young and strong,
thanks be to God, so he got over it.
- I'm throwing him out tomorrow.
- Good. He'll be on his feet in no time.
Now, what's this, huh?
T-R...
- A.
- A.
- I.
- I.
- N.
- N.
- Train.
- Train.
That's good. That's very good.
Bye, honey.
- Good luck, Scott.
- Good luck to you, sir.
I'll need it.
You're going away?
I hope you'll be here when I get back.
T-R-A-I-N.
Miss Wright, if you please.
I hope you know
what you're doing, sir.
- Let's go.
- Smith, sir! Giddap.
Yes?
I was told the secretary
wanted to see me.
Were you also told
that the secretary is a very busy man?
Well, sir, I am also a very busy man.
And what is your name?
Archer. Captain Archer.
I do not see the name
of a Captain Archer on the list...
Look, sir, I have to get back
to Fort Robinson.
Fort Robinson?
I've been wanting to meet someone
from Fort Robinson.
- Come with me.
- Thank you.
Gentlemen, gentlemen. Please.
Come in.
- Captain Archer, aren't you?
- Yes, that's right.
This is my hideout.
This is where I keep away
from the leeches and vultures upstairs...
Excuse me, but I have an appointment
with Mr. Schurz.
- The secretary judge...
- I'm Carl Schurz. Cigar?
Oh, I'm sorry, sir.
I didn't recognize you.
Nobody does. Sit down, sit down.
Oh, thank you.
Captain.
I understand you're quite unpopular over
at the War Department.
For what purpose?
Is that why you wanted
to see me, sir?
I'm not supposed to discuss this
outside of channels.
Well, if it concerns the Indians
at Fort Robinson, I'm the channel.
I'd like to know why
you're risking your career...
...your commission
by questioning superior authority.
I'd like to know, confidentially,
the truth.
I don't often manage to hear it.
Well, sir.
At Fort Robinson, I've seen respect
for superior authority...
...gone stark-raving mad.
Those Indians are dying of cold
and starvation in that prison.
I only heard they were being,
what's the word? "Restrained"?
- "Disciplined"?
- No, sir.
"Murdered" is the right word.
And you'd like me to do something
about it?
Sir, I only know what those Cheyenne
have gone through.
If the people had seen it,
they wouldn't have liked it.
The people?
Captain...
...you're asking me to make
that false move...
...that a lot of people
have been hoping for.
They need your help, sir.
There's a train at 7 this evening
for the West. You'll be on it.
Thank you.
Thank you very much, sir.
Old friend.
Old friend.
What would you do?
They sound like a thousand banshees
out there...
...keening over the grave
of Choochoolan.
Young lady, you don't seem to realize
what you're asking of me.
You know the Army
is the only living that I have.
Now you listen to me for a minute
and I'll explain it to you.
Look, when I was studying medicine
on the Continent...
...it was read a book, look at a corpse
and say, "Thank you for the license."
Well, the Civil War changed all that.
Civil War was my salvation.
I stepped right off a boat
and straight into uniform...
...and I had a good sense
to stay there.
Now, all I've done ever since
is hand out blue pills...
...and give doses of castor oil.
Man alive, I...
Look, I starved to death
in civilian practice...
- You use the word lightly.
- "Lightly"? I...
I think the Cheyenne
are starving now.
Now listen to me, Miss Wright.
You're a Quaker and you're dedicated
to self-sacrifice...
...while I'm dedicated
to self-preservation.
You want me to go out there,
don't you?
Yeah, and take me future,
me career and me pension...
...and throw it down the drain.
Is that what you want, huh?
Yeah, well, that's exactly
what I'm going to do.
Captain, you've got trouble
on your hands.
Trouble?
How can there be trouble?
They have nothing to fight with.
- Their bare hands, maybe.
- "Bare hands."
The question is,
do you want to be responsible?
Responsible?
I am responsible for nothing.
None of them had to die.
They could've walked out of there
any time they liked.
I have simply been the instrument
of an order.
An order I did not agree with.
You say that as if you've memorized it.
Why? Why do you talk to me?
Why don't you talk to those Indians?
That is where the blame is.
Any time.
Any time they could've ended this.
First, it was the order from headquarters.
Now, it's the Indians.
Everybody is to blame but you.
I will not stand
for any more insubordination...
- The truth of the matter is that you've...
- Get out!
...let this become a test of wills
between you and the Cheyenne.
You have made it
your own personal fight.
You are a liar.
You lie!
Nothing I have done is personal.
I am a soldier.
I was a soldier in Prussia,
and I am a soldier here.
All my life, I have given
and taken orders.
What would be this world
without orders, huh? What would be?
Chaos. Anarchy.
That's what would be.
Well, I will not let that start here.
And you...
You. You, oh...
I will not let you spread these lies.
You are under arrest.
Gentlemen!
Mr. Peterson.
Lieutenant Peterson, bear witness.
I have just arrested this man.
You are mistaken, captain.
I am not under arrest, but you are.
The regulations state
that when an officer...
- Yeah, I know the regulations...
- "Due to alcoholism...
- "Alcoholism"?!
...brain injury or kindred disability...
...is not capable of command...
- What did you see in this?
...he may be removed."
I am doing just that.
You are the one with brain disease,
not me.
I am doing just that, sir.
- You'll be court-martialed and shot!
- These men are my witnesses...
...but I am assuming full responsibility.
You are confined to quarters.
- Quarters?
- Officer of the day, the keys, please.
Mr. Peterson, I am taking
full responsibility.
Enemy! Enemy!
On the double! On the double!
Come on!
Oh, glory be to God.
Back to work!
Stop it, you idiots! Stop it!
As if guided by the instinct
of a wounded animal...
...the survivors of the Cheyenne
joined together 1200 miles...
...from the territory they had fled...
...at a place in the arid hills of Dakota
which they held sacred...
...called, in their language,
"Victory Cave."
Cavalry in position, sir.
Colonel, I'd like to have you meet
the Secretary of the Interior, Carl Schurz.
Well, I'm glad to see you,
Mr. Secretary.
Riding all night didn't help
my lumbago.
- Is that coffee I smell?
- Yes, sir. Oh, Captain?
- Archer, sir.
- Archer.
Thank you.
- You see those guns, Mr. Secretary?
- Yes.
Well, in just about
one minute now, sir...
Yes, I know, I know.
You're all set.
But not before I've had a chance
to talk to those Indians.
Well, now this is hardly
a civilian matter, Mr. Secretary.
Army coffee hasn't improved
in all these years.
I have my orders
from General Sheridan, sir.
One question, colonel.
Do you enjoy killing Indians?
Women, children?
- Well, no, of course, sir, but I have...
- Then you'll be pleased I came.
- The orders have been changed?
- The ground that you're standing on...
...is property controlled
by the Department of the Interior.
Now, I either parley
with those Cheyennes...
...or I consider you
and your troops trespassers.
Well, that's absurd, Mr. Secretary.
Colonel, I know I may be
on shaky legal ground...
...but that's for the courts to decide.
- You ever had lumbago?
- No, sir, I've... But...
Little Wolf, Dull Knife,
this is Mr. Schurz...
...one of the chiefs
of our government in Washington.
- They both speak English, sir.
- Oh, good. Good.
I know how many promises
have been made to you and then broken.
But I'm not here to make any promises.
I'm asking you to take a gamble.
All veho words are the same.
You keep us talking.
- The soldiers...
- Now, please listen to me. Please.
You've made one of the most
heroic marches in history.
You deserve to go back to your homeland
and stay there in peace.
I'm sure that the people of this country
will understand and will agree...
...when they hear the facts.
Now will you take the gamble?
The people? Who will tell them?
Who will tell the people
about Fort Robinson?
I will.
I promise you.
You call this "Victory Cave."
You can have another
greater victory here, right now.
He speaks the truth.
We have no...
Tobacco.
No tobacco for the peace pipe.
Maybe we can start a new custom.
Thank you.
But there were still wounds to heal...
...and there was still peace to be made
among those who had lived...
...through the long, heroic march.
And there were still some who had
yet to come home...
...to the land of the Cheyenne.
And so when the nation was safe...
...the sacred bundle, symbol of the chief
of chiefs, was passed on...
...for no one could carry it who had shed
the blood of another Cheyenne.
Home.
H-O-M-E, home.
H-O-M-E, home.