Whoa! Easy, boy.
Whoa, there. Whoa.
Ah.
Souvenir.
Of what?
Oh, the great Southwest, the
dangerous Indian territory.
Hey, Sarge, ya know,
this is gonna make somethin' nice
to hang on the wall when I retire,
somethin' I can tell
my grandkids lies about.
That arrow's at least a year
old. Pick up a fresh one.
Listen, Sarge, I think
the arrow's extinct.
Couple of weeks, you'll be
pullin' 'em out of your back.
I heard that in St. Louis
a thousand miles ago.
By now, I thought we'd be hackin' our
way through a solid wall of Indian flesh.
Wait until you run into Satanta, chief of
the Kiowas. You'll know you met an Indian.
Oh, he's a tough one, huh? Got his whole
tepee covered with buck sergeants' chevrons.
The only fella gonna get those stripes is
the fella I give 'em to after I got yours.
All right, let's get
movin' back there!
Comanches?
Comanches would have taken a
prisoner. That's a Kiowa specialty.
Picket the horses while
I try to find a shovel.
Great place for souvenirs.
Detail reporting
to Colonel Meade.
Open the gate!
Left to right!
To the left, go!
Forward, go!
Major Howell Brady, Sergeants Luke
Schermerhorn and Agustus Wilks...
reporting
from St. Louis, sir.
How do you do? Captain
Neil, Lieutenant Rolier.
Still a sergeant,
eh, Schermerhorn?
I guess soldiers are like
water. They find their own level.
Pour the sergeants a bath
and a drink: the drink first.
Come along, Major.
You're to be quartered here for six months
under nobody's orders but your own.
Those are
Gen. Schofield's words.
I don't like it, even
from the secretary of war.
That's natural.
This is good whiskey.
Washington doesn't have to send anybody
around, investigating my command.
As far as I know,
they haven't.
Then what is it? Major Howell
Brady taking over this fort?
I've already
turned down three.
I've been in this army
too many years to be fooled.
Things haven't gone well here, and
they've retired generals for less.
I haven't heard talk of retiring
you. Your record shows...
I know. But you're as good
as your last casualty list.
All right, I'll play the game.
Game?
By elimination, you must be here to
fight Indians. Yeah. That's about it.
One major and two sergeants is not
what I'd call a fighting outfit.
Well, it's a start. What can
you do that I haven't done?
The Kiowas are having a field day,
but why? Nobody's stopping them.
They don't come out by the
hundreds and thousands anymore.
They raid by 10s and 20s.
They hit and they're gone.
I know. I saw some of
their work a few miles back.
Family named McMurdo.
At least they're buried under
a cross. Crude, but a cross.
How can I stop this
with only one command?
You might break it up
into companies or platoons,
send 'em riding
in all directions.
That's what the Kiowas want.
They'd cut us to ribbons.
The only hope for law is to keep this command
intact. When it's gone, the Kiowas rule.
They seem
to be ruling now.
If you're here to fight Indians,
Major, there's a lot of work waiting.
I hear you have Seminoles
in this territory.
Yeah, a small tribe up by Golden.
At least they're peaceful.
You know their chief,
Maygro?
Not personally, but I fought
against his father in Florida.
- What's your opinion of them?
- For eight years in Florida,
they held back almost every regiment of the
army, marines, the navy and 50,000 militia.
All that
with just 400 warriors.
Incredible, wasn't it?
Heh. Expensive too.
The government had to scatter them all over
the country so there wouldn't be another war.
Now they're a poor tribe of
vagabonds living in sod huts...
and trying to raise
a few scrawny sheep.
But they
can still fight.
Fight who?
Kiowas.
You couldn't get a Seminole Indian
to fight for his sister's virtue.
Why not? They've laid
down their guns for good.
The Kiowas run through
their village Just for sport.
Could you get me three
fresh horses and $500?
Anything, Major. I'll have
you quartered within the hour.
Well, don't bother
with anything elaborate.
I'll move Mrs. Corwin out of Capt.
Corwin's house. He was killed recently.
Please don't inconvenience
anyone for me.
There's room for the woman
at my place. You're the C.O.
By the way, there's a birthday
party at my house tonight.
That hardly gives me time
to buy a present.
Don't bother.
You've already given me one:
the funniest story
of the year.
Seminoles fighting Kiowas.
Happy birthday, Colonel.
Thank you, Major.
Excuse me.
Certainly.
So I told him he had to be
in full uniform at all times.
The colonel's special blend.
Major Howell Brady,
ma'am.
I came to dance, if
you'd do me the honor.
We were holding
a conversation, Major.
You should try holding
a girl sometime, Captain.
I have a feeling that patience is not
one of your stronger virtues, Major.
Consider the life span
of the average human,
then subtract all the minutes we
waste in meaningless formalities.
Criminal. There's little enough
time for small pleasures as it is.
As I live and breathe,
a philosopher.
A... a realist.
Well, whatever you are, I'm glad
someone finally asked me to dance.
Is there something about you
I should know? I'm Mrs. Corvvin.
I'm, uh, sorry about having
taken over your house.
The fortunes of war, Major.
Besides, any man who's held
every rank from private to major,
won a field commission, been breveted
twice for exceptional gallantry...
and won the Congressional
Medal of Honor,
there just isn't enough that we can
do for him. Who told you all that?
Col. Meade, and not
without a little envy.
Oh, ah, I'm taking a room in
his house. Yes, so I heard.
And he who gossips will be out
chasing Kiowas in the morning.
They should be anyway.
Don't you go, Major.
We've lost too many
good dancers already.
I'm even more sorry
about your husband.
When did it happen?
About six months ago
on a scouting party.
He must've been
quite a man...
for his memory to have kept you
single on the frontier this long.
They've been proposing to me
by platoons lately.
Bad training.
There are times when
the individual soldier...
is much more effective
than the unit.
You're an exponent of
the one-man frontal attack.
Yes, but I believe in
cautious reconnoitering first.
Better be careful, Major. You're
revealing your position to the enemy.
Enjoy your waltz, Major?
Were we Waltzing?
It was more like
a musical fencing match.
I couldn't get past her
guard. Nobody ever does.
She's a greater threat
to this post than the Kiowas.
- Something oughta be done.
- You'll have to go to the end of the line.
Not him. He doesn't waste his
time on meaningless formalities.
Major Brady, perhaps you'd
tell our younger officers...
of your experiences
fighting the Cheyenne.
They look about as
friendly as the Cheyenne.
A later dance,
Mrs. Corwin?
The Captain's Quadrille. Write
'Elaine' on your card. Thank you.
I thought you were
above flirting.
Was I?
I hear he came from St.
Louis and Washington.
He's still
Just another soldier.
Well, tell me,
what's he doing here?
Trying to get Seminoles
to fight Kiowas.
Why, Colonel,
you're jealous of him.
Hey. I always knew you
were a brave man, Major,
but goin' in through the colonel's
back door ain't recommended,
even for heroes.
That's Capt. Corwin's
widow. Oh. I'm sorry.
I always figured that
Corwin was too ornery to die.
Them Kiowas ain't choosy
about who they kill.
You knew him?
Yeah, I knew him.
It'd take more than a few
Indians to keep me away from that.
We're ridin' in a noose. I
know. Care to pick a number?
At least five,
or they'd be afraid.
Not 10,
or they'd have cut loose.
Seven.
Lucky seven.
We'll have to fight our way out. Yeah.
Probably try to catch us
at that other rise.
Tell Wilks to keep his eyes front.
He don't even know they're up there.
He's got barroom eyes.
When we reach that rim,
we'll go into a run.
Come over it shooting.
I'll take the left. You
and Wilks take the right.
How about them fellas
tellin' us it was dangerous...
for just the three of us
to ride in this country
They call this Coffin Rim. It's not famous
for the births that have happened here.
I'll bet you a dollar there
ain't an Indian within 10 miles.
You got a bet.
How're we gonna prove it?
Easy. Four Kiowas have got you in
their sights now. Don't look up!
Are you serious? When we hit
that ridge, you do as I do...
if you want to live long enough
for another promotion. Yes, sir.
Uh, you fellas
is lucky I was along.
You're right. I just
made an easy dollar.
Wilks and I will do
some cleaning up.
You contact the Seminoles
and tell them what I said.
I'll do what I can.
All right.
Schermerhorn,
I hate to bring this up,
but don't you think I oughta
hold the dollar? Just in case.
Uh-uh. if anything happens, I'm gonna
need some gambling money where I'm going.
Well, that Schermerhorn.
That feller could charm the Rocky
Mountains into goin' south for the winter.
Psst!
My father, Chief Maygro, said to
give you some food while he talks.
Rabbit, eh?
We call it Texas buffalo.
Say, you talk English
real good.
Why shouldn't I? I went
to school in San Antonio.
What's your name, honey?
Avis. It means bird. And do not
speak of putting salt on my tail.
Some fella already
beat me to it, huh?
Uh, my name is Wilks.
Sergeant Wilks.
And this fella here...
I forget his name.
Anyway, he's married
and got 16 kids.
You make him
sound interesting.
Uh, you like this life
out here? I hate it.
Would you like to spend your life in
a mud hut with corn husks for beds...
and rabbit
for food every day?
Well, uh, I might
if you was with me.
I won't be. I'm going someplace.
Any particular place?
Anywhere. It couldn't
be worse than this.
Maybe you and I could
work something out.
What I want,
you don't have.
Oh, try me.
Good food and clothes
and a decent place to live?
Well, that sure
lets out enlisted men.
What's your father
think about all this?
My father will not let me
leave. He won't? How come?
He says there's only one way
to get the things I want.
He could be right.
I don't care.
I know what I want. I'm going
to get it. Wait a minute.
There's a lot to be said
for bein' a nice girl.
Weren't you just suggesting
we could work something out?
I didn't mean... Who are you to
tell me what is nice and what isn't?
When I get the chance, I will
leave and I will do what I want.
Then you want us
to help you fight the Kiowa?
That's right, Maygro.
You Seminoles.
We are Kanyuksa Indians
from Florida.
Among our people,
'Seminole' is not a good word.
All right, Kanyuksa.
We number 300,
maybe 25 men
who could fight.
That's more than enough.
I try to understand... We have to
fight the Kiowas on their own terms.
A small, fast-moving,
hard-hitting force,
one that knows the country,
understands the language,
has endurance and doesn't
ask any luxuries.
Why should we do this
for you?
For six months' service, the government
will give you land of your own.
Like this? No, this
will be green land...
with water and cattle,
trees to build houses with.
Where is this land?
The whole
Santa Media Valley.
But to get it, we must fight. Yeah.
That is one thing
we cannot do.
Aw! We make foolish journey
to come here.
Why don't you
ask your people?
I am the law
of the Kanyuksas.
I say no.
You afraid, Maygro?
Come.
We speak with others.
Tell us, how will our
families eat when men are gone?
The army will send
supplies every month.
Meantime, $500 until the
first supply train comes.
We have put down
our guns for good.
Fighting will only lose us
the peace we find.
Peace?
You mean hunger!
Let me die fighting, not
from peaceful starvation!
Pino, you're too young to remember
what war did to the Kanyuksa.
When you have to fight,
you fight!
Even a snake
or gopher knows that.
Are we to sit around...
and watch the Kiowas run
through our camp for sport?
The young men have the heart,
but we have no weapons!
If I had a gun,
I would show them...
that the Kanyuksa have at least as
much courage as gopher! Pino, sit down!
When elders speak,
you listen. Sit down!
I am your leader.
When we were
driven from Florida,
we pledged to keep peace.
We knew it would be hard.
You want new leader,
say so.
Then as long as I am
Maygro, your leader,
I do what I think best.
You're less than women!
I'm ashamed that I talked to
you as equals, as men of courage!
Major!
Kiowas!
Well, at least you got
six more horses.
I never saw gun
shoot like that.
Fifteen times without reloading.
It's a Henry repeating rifle.
This is the weapon you'll have.
Makes one man equal to 30.
You teach
strong lesson.
I always said whoever called the
Kanyuksas 'Seminoles' was right.
That's all they ever were:
Seminoles, cowards, and renegades.
Avis, this is no time
for such talk.
You might yet turn out
to be men.
No one will give you anything
unless you fight for it.
Quiet.
We will go with Major.
I know,
and I am going with you.
You will stay in village where you
belong with the rest of the women.
Try and keep me there.
Hey, Schermerhorn, you
captured the wrong Indians.
Them ain't fighters:
they're sheep eaters.
I'm beginnin' to feel a little foolish.
You got the face to go with it.
I guess you're right.
Colonel, this is Maygro... Who said
these Seminoles were to be quartered?
The orders,
some of the fine print.
You don't pull sleeping
quarters out of the air.
Give 'em a gun and a horse and
they'll be gone by tomorrow morning.
The Kanyuksas will...
I'm talking to the major!
Go on, Maygro.
The Kanyuksas will not go. They will
fight well for land and food promised.
What land? What food?
The Santa Media Valley,
and a wagon train to
their families every month.
I need all the supplies
I have!
The supplies will be ready at
the nearest army railhead monthly.
You just furnish
the transportation.
Where are you going?
To Major Brady's house
to stay with my father.
That would not be good.
They put me in a tent worse
than the hut I came from.
If you would marry me,
I would build a house for us.
What will you build?
A jackal hut?
Made of handsome sod and
magnificent mud? No, Pino. Never.
A house is good because of how
you live in it, not how it is made.
That is not for me!
Hello.
I'm Mrs. Corwin.
Elaine Corwin.
My name is Avis.
Your dress
is very pretty.
Thank you. Coming from another
woman, that's the highest compliment.
Did it cost much?
No. I made it myself. You can't
buy ready-made dresses out here.
Someday I'll have
a dress prettier than that.
I'll show you how to make one
with my patterns.
If I had the cloth, I could sew it
myself. I might have some cloth too.
Thank you,
but I'll get my own.
Afternoon, Mrs. Corwin.
Hello, Major.
You're about to have a new resident
in your house. Oh, homesick already?
As far as I'm concerned, one house is
the same as another on an army post.
I'm disappointed.
I'm flattered
by your disappointment.
And I'm properly
put in my place.
About my new resident...
It's Avis.
I understand
she's moving in.
I guess she wants to be
near her father. Uh-uh.
She's dying to have
a dress like mine,
probably so her father will
realize how pretty she is.
Or Pino.
Or you.
She has a kind
of untamed charm.
They say that a wild plant
never lives very long indoors.
I'm gonna be too busy
to conduct social experiments.
Speaking of experiments, the talk is
that you'll never train the Seminoles.
The only thing that talk
ever trained is a parrot.
By the way, they don't like
to be called Seminoles. Oh?
Suppose we discuss it later?
Be all right?
Very well.
Well, your men are ready. I gave 'em
each a horse and a Henry repeater.
These guns will speak their
own answer to the colonel.
Just load 'em up on Sunday,
and they'll shoot all week.
For you.
Well, you can't see
through the paper, you know.
Oh.
There's enough material for a dress,
pattern, needles, thread.
If you need any more help, I
can't give it to you. Thank you.
Hope it'll give you
something to do.
She told you, didn't she?
Yeah.
I'll be a better woman
than she is.
What do you do
with your old losers, Major?
All right, now, keep
your elbow on your knee.
The stock dug
into your shoulder.
That's it. Just like that.
Pick your targets
carefully,
every shot.
All right, Luke.
Take a steady grip
and squeeze.
Don't pull the trigger, or you'll
jerk the barrel off the target.
Keep this little ball Just underneath
what you're aimin' at, like this.
All right, one at a time.
Maygro, you lead off.
Ha!
All right, Pino.
I'm not sure
this is such a good idea.
What?
Leaving the fort after dark.
Could get mighty dangerous
out here.
Everything's dangerous
in this country.
I know.
I mean, danger doesn't stop
at the walls of the fort.
I know that too.
Why, even in your own home.
Once I walked into my living
room, and there was a rattler.
Gave me quite a start.
Once I walked into a room...
and there was one of the most
beautiful women I've ever seen.
Gave me quite a start.
Anyway, if I didn't get outside
once in a while, I'd go crazy.
Sometimes the fort seems
Just like a prison.
Why do you stay on?
Oh, it isn't easy for a woman to
pull up roots and start traveling.
Colonel Meade wouldn't have
anything to do with it, would he?
Why do you ask that?
Because he's entirely too paternal
for a man who isn't the fatherly type.
I'm very fond
of jack as a friend.
Nothing more,
and he knows it.
A smart officer prepares
for a long campaign.
He'd have the same luck with me
that he's having with the Kiowas.
That seems to be true
for everybody.
Something tells me that
you'll do a little better.
With you?
I was thinking
about the Kiowas.
Oh.
I don't know.
Their raids aren't haphazard.
There's a plan behind them.
I'm sorry
I even mentioned it.
All right, pick a subject.
Something far away, something
like Washington or St. Louis.
Oh, the buildings hem you in
and the noise wears you down.
I've had
a warehouseful of quiet.
Tell me about the parties
and the dresses...
and the crystal
and the silver.
And the colds and bad food
and the empty conversation?
Oh, sounds wonderful.
To be sitting with a cold in a
noisy restaurant in Washington...
listening
to bad conversation,
I'd give all the love
that's in me.
Now or when
you get there?
I... I don't know what
made me say that.
Don't you?
Do your plans really
include a return to the East?
I don't know, except... Well,
then why don't we talk about it...
when you really know
where you're going?
All right, Wilks, take over.
Yes, sir.
Now, you all know
how to sit on a horse.
I'm gonna show you
how to jump a horse!
Now pay attention.
Pino, follow me over.
When the time comes, you'll
have to dig 'em faster and deeper.
Man should not fight in
hole. He should stand erect.
And get his head shot off?
In case of a sudden attack, this is what
we'll use these trenches for. Ready?
Think we had enough?
Even the army don't work this hard.
That's why we're out here. Come on.
He's training those Seminoles like a cross
between Kentucky frontiersmen and rustlers.
Digging holes, firing dismounted,
charging four at a time.
To fight Indians, you've got to give
'em a spectacle. Stun 'em, make noise.
I'd like to be looking on when Brady's
bunch meets its first party of Kiowas.
Those lads aren't
interested in playing games.
It'll take him a month to
round up his Seminoles again.
One way or another,
I'd like to see it.
A toast...
to the memory
of Brady's bunch.
Oh, hello, Major.
Looking for the colonel?
No, he's in his office.
I made sure of that.
May I come in?
Oh, of course.
Would you like
a cup of tea?
No, thank you.
Oh, um, how's your army
coming along?
If maneuvers mean anything,
we're unbeatable.
We'll know shortly. I leave
in a day or so. Oh, so soon?
Mm-hmm.
Elaine, I-I don't know how long this
will take or how well it'll come out.
What an alarming lack of
confidence. It isn't like you.
I have my moments.
Sometimes when we play
make-believe, we get overconfident.
Worse, we lose sight of what's
make-believe and what's real.
Are we talking
about the same thing?
I think we are.
If we ever get
the Kiowas in line,
I can just about pick
my next assignment.
I've had enough of this special
frontier duty to warrant it.
You're very fortunate,
Major.
I thought I might ask for a
tour of duty in Washington,
the A.G. office
or something like that.
Where the buildings hem you in
and the noise wears you down.
When a man has nothing but time on
his hands, no one to share it with,
he concentrates
on noise and cold.
He has to blame
his loneliness on something.
Elaine, I... I-I'm not doing
a very good job of this,
but I'm trying to tell you
I... I'm in love with you.
I know.
I wish you hadn't.
The other night,
that was one thing.
I'm sorry for it. This is
different. No, it's worse.
I don't understand. It's really very simple.
I'm not in love with you.
You haven't given yourself
time to think about it.
I don't have to think about it.
I know. I don't believe that.
You and your supreme ego, Major.
Can't you stand being rejected?
As much as you can stand being a
woman. Don't worry. I'm a woman.
I'm beginning to wonder.
I'm genuinely impressed,
Major,
but I'm afraid
nothing's changed.
You're so wrong
about that.
I'm sorry I troubled you.
They hide out somewhere in the
northeast. Raids have been in this area.
There are certain ridges and canyons
they have to take to reach this spot.
Suppose we stake this
one out. Spread out.
Thanks for volunteering
to be bait, Pino.
I must make myself as strong a
man as you so Avis will notice me.
My blood is slowin'
down to a walk.
Stop complainin'.
We're makin' a hero out of ya.
Well, I'll trade my medals for a piece
of that fire. Go up and join 'em, then.
I think I will.
All right, go on.
On second thought, I think
I'll stay right where I am.
Wait until we're sure.
The last second.
These make good graves
for later.
You better dig it
a little wider, Wilks.
Ah! Aw, you can
bury me sideways.
Luke, come here.
Get 'em ready. Tell 'em not
to mistake me for a Kiowa.
Lesson grows stronger.
Here comes
some more of 'em.
Major Brady!
I almost killed ya!
He got away!
Who got away?
I don't know,
but he wasn't an Indian.
I better get me a pair of
them eyeglasses. Oh, forget it.
Got a match?
Yeah, I think so.
This could have been picked up
by some Kiowa off Corwin's body.
I hope so. The man who
carried it was white.
Corwin's dead. He went on a scouting
trip with a corporal and a private.
I found their bodies burned and tied
to a wagon wheel. There are his papers.
Must be some other white man
fighting with the Indians.
Could be almost anyone. There
are a lot of renegades out there.
But your job is the Indians.
I know my job, Colonel.
I guess this belongs to Mrs.
Corwin. I'll see that she gets it.
Uh, Brady.
It's difficult to prove that your men
killed as many raiders as you claim.
But let's assume you're
truthful. Congratulations.
Where did you find it?
I won it. First prize
in a free-for-all.
The man who carried it
was white.
Was he tall
and dark-haired?
I didn't get
a good look at him, but...
I'd say that's a pretty fair
description of almost anyone.
Do you think he's alive?
It's only a feeling,
woman's intuition.
I was hoping
that he had died.
He went on that scouting
expedition to desert.
He wanted me to go with
him. Meade found his body.
Burned. Who could say
it was him?
I saw his papers.
Meade showed them to me.
The whole idea's
pretty far-fetched.
Roger was
a very farfetched man.
He cultivated the friendship
of some influential Mexicans...
that didn't like
the Guadalupe Treaty,
that lost them
their lands in Texas.
They offered him a small fortune
to start the Indians fighting again.
To get Mexico
back in the war?
I don't know.
I- I think so.
Why didn't you
turn him in?
I didn't think
that he was serious.
It would have been a very
difficult thing to prove.
Then when I heard he was dead, there
didn't seem to be any point to it.
Quite a man you married.
Sure, I married him.
I was in love with him.
But you can't hate him
any more than I do now.
Yet you insist
on remaining tied to him.
You lock the gate on your emotions,
refuse to fall in love again,
all because you're living in wedlock with
a ghost. Apparently more than a ghost.
That's all he is. A body
was identified by Col. Meade.
That sets you free legally
in any court.
There are other things
besides legal freedom.
I've the feeling that he's
still alive. And now this.
This saber doesn't prove
anything. It could've been found!
It doesn't prove
that he's dead either.
Luke, you, uh... You didn't like
Capt. Corwin very much, did you?
I took more kindly to scorpions.
Why?
Never did warm to these
galvanized Yankees,
but Corwin was the sourest
pickle in the barrel.
Fought for the Confederacy,
huh? He never stopped fightin'.
He joined us
Just to get even.
I never saw one man could
hate a Yankee so hard.
Enough to stand by and see a lot of 'em
slaughtered? He wouldn't be standin' by.
He'd be helpin' out.
Good evening, Major.
Good evening, Captain.
These dances sure break up
the monotony on the post.
You should try
chasing Kiowas for that.
Those savages know we're having
a dance in here? Probably.
If I were commanding this post,
they'd show respect for rank.
I think they've earned
their celebration...
much more than your rank has
earned you any respect, Captain.
Made from the cloth
you gave me.
No. I never gave you any
cloth as beautiful as that.
I was going to wait here until
you came out, so you would see it.
Did you wear it especially
for the celebration?
I did not make this dress for an
Indian celebration. I'm not a savage.
Did I do as I said I would? Hmm?
Did I make myself a better
woman for you to look at...
than the woman
who cried on your shoulder?
Avis, I doubt that
anywhere in the world...
there's a woman better
to look at than you.
Thank you.
Take everything you need. You
won't see a quartermaster for weeks.
That's as good as gettin' two
weeks away from your mother-in-law.
Brady.
I... I just wanted
to wish you luck.
That'd mean bringing your husband
back, if it is your husband.
I know.
If it's me personally
you're wishing luck,
it'd mean
bringing him back dead.
Yes.
You don't give a man a very
comfortable choice, do you?
I'm being honest for the
first time in my life.
It isn't easy for me
either.
But I'm the one who has
to make the decision.
Boy, I never thought I'd end up
one of them female 'personators.
Ha-ha!
He don't seem to mind!
Hey, he's prettier
than me!
Here they come!
Boy, are they gonna
get a surprise.
Take their rifles
and let 'em go.
Keep that one here.
I wanna talk to him.
Speak English?
Know any Kiowa words,
Maygro?
I can speak with him. Ask him if
there's a white man riding with 'em.
He just say, 'Kill me. '
Ask him again.
All right, let him go.
Major, he understand
only torture.
I don't.
I said let him go.
He say kill him.
He thinks
we shoot him in back.
Give him an escort. Tell him
we'll keep after his people...
until they stop
fighting.
Yes, sir. A Kiowa a clay
keeps me rollin' in pay.
Twenty a month. That's
about 65 cents a Kiowa.
I'm gonna run a special:
two for a quarter.
We've done all right. Two raidin' parties
a day. That's pretty good huntin'.
It's just fair. It's a new
record for this territory.
Unless we find
their leaders,
it will take us the rest of our
lives to wipe out the Kiowas.
The Kiowa talked.
I don't believe in torture. He
would have killed himself anyway.
He not return
to tribe disgraced.
We're trying to bring law into this
territory. Yet, one life for many.
Pino!
There is a white man.
Corwin.
He was officer in your army.
He lead Kiowa raids.
Where does he hide out'?
Many place. He move every
day. He has heard of us.
What'd I tell ya? Any outfit Agustus
Wilks joins becomes immortal overnight.
He worries.
When war parties
do not come back,
people and their chief Satanta
ask questions.
Anything else?
He know, to rule this land,
he must destroy fort.
When was that
scheduled for?
Not for long time.
But because of us,
and doubt spread
among his tribes,
he will be forced
to do it soon.
Any day.
The fort isn't easy to defend...
with a hill
looking down on it.
They had to build it
where the fresh water was.
Let's go back
and get us a drink.
Did you learn anything about... Yeah.
He's...
He's still alive?
Still alive.
What's your claim
this time, Major?
Twenty raiding parties. Would
you like to see the bodies?
That's a nice,
round number.
I'm too tired to play
word games today.
You'll get my written report in the
morning. Should be stirring stuff.
Is it true you do not send supplies
to my people? That door's to knock on!
Before I cut you
in two, tell me!
You enlisted in this army
as a scout. I'm a colonel!
There are limits to the
liberties you can take with me!
Tell me!
Did you send the supplies?
No.
We kept our word! Why you not
keep your word? I gave you no word!
But I did, through an
authority higher than yours.
What are my people to eat?
Dirt?
The supplies haven't
arrived from the Army depot.
When they do, I'll let you know. Until
then, get out of my office, Maygro!
You can't treat him
like that. He's a chief!
Of what? A worthless band of vagabonds?
Now, if there's nothing else,
Major... There's a lot else, Colonel!
Capt. Corwin is alive and
directing the Indian raids.
Who told you that?
A Kiowa.
Huh.
Just before he died.
All right, he lied. But
let's assume it's true.
Then someday we'll find him.
Maybe he'll find you first.
What do you mean? He
plans to destroy this fort.
Good. We'll be
waiting for him.
Just remember
where you heard it first.
About these supplies: You've
got more than you need.
I'm not authorized
to issue them to you.
Wars are won by initiative,
not authorization.
I never cared much
for debates, Major,
especially
with junior officers.
All right, Meade,
fight your own private war.
But before you're through, you'll
need more than those eagles.
Brady!
Brady, they've gone!
Maygro? And all the men.
They just rode out.
You must get them back. What for?
To save your precious Capt. Corwin?
There are other things to consider:
the women and children in this fort.
I've never seen
my father so angry.
Why didn't you go too?
I told my father I would not go.
I told him we were gonna
be married. Married?
I had to tell him something. That's just
another promise he'll think I've broken.
I'll tell him the truth someday.
Thanks.
I stayed because I want
you to go after them.
You need them,
but they need you more.
They've known
hunger before,
but this time their
hunger will have a purpose.
Bring them back, Brady.
I wasn't sure I liked you
the first time I saw you.
Now?
I can stand you.
Not enough to have you
give me away in marriage.
Won't help to catch up with Maygro unless
we've got more than words to offer him.
Supplies from the
quartermaster warehouse? Yeah.
Biggest wagon load of everything you
can find. Findin's gonna be easy.
Gettin' it out will be the job.
You can turn it down if you want.
Well, I've had a pretty good
career in the army.
Not as good as yours, Luke,
but it wasn't bad.
I'll let you wear my
stripes while we do it.
I always knowed I'd get to
wear them stripes someday.
Use the back gate. Be sure
to watch out for the 0.D.
How much time
we got left, Luke?
Two more minutes before the officer
of the day will be making his rounds.
Maybe he'll be late tonight.
Capt. Neil is never late.
Capt. Neil!
We'll never drink all that!
Two of 'em is for the horses.
He'll be here any second! I
never drink without a chaser.
Oh-oh.
Firin' squad,
here we come.
Start thinkin' what you're
gonna say at the court-martial.
Anybody in there?
No, sir.
We go on.
Just a few more minutes, Maygro.
We wait too long now.
Good work! Did you have any trouble?
Trouble? Ha! Aw, no, we didn't have
no trouble, Major. We was just...
By the orders of Col. Meade,
you're under arrest.
Any move to resist would
save a tiresome court-martial.
Don't get drunk with power. I
still outrank you. Temporarily.
What's the charge?
What do you think?
Somebody made the mistake
of dropping his pay book.
The major didn't have
nothin' to do with that.
This room is off-limits
to prisoners.
So we took
a few supplies.
You can do anything you want with
your men and supplies, but not mine.
The secretary of war
can't protect you now.
The supplies
will be replaced.
In the meantime, they must be
officially listed as stolen.
Meade, this isn't West
Point: it's Indian country.
No regulations
ever stopped an Indian.
My first duty
is to this command.
What good were they doing
sitting here? That's my concern.
The concern of every dead
settler from here to Arkansas.
You've been waitin' for me to make
a mistake like this. You're the type.
Capt. Neil is waiting. You'll
be under guard in your quarters.
You plan to run the
Seminoles by yourself? Yes.
I'm gonna run 'em
out of this fort.
Even you can't carry
petty jealousy that far.
Until the army replaces me,
I'm still commanding!
And using your rank
to make a personal war!
Out here
the U.S. Army is the law!
I'm not gonna see it handed over to a band
of rabble! Even if they do the job better?
Even if they can
do the job better.
With them leaving
and Brady under guard,
that's the last
of Brady's bunch.
Good evening,
Mrs. Corwin.
Good evening.
We have only a few moments
before we are discovered.
We need horses and guns. They
are going out the back gate now.
How'd you get in?
Mrs. Corwin.
Let's go.
You two stay here.
You can't get rid of us.
We know too much.
It'd be desertion. If we accomplish
something, they might be good to us, but...
It's service above and
beyond the call of duty.
All right, you enlisted.
You shouldn't be here.
Get going!
I'm not leaving!
Don't be crazy!
I'm staying here to prove
that you'll all come back.
You don't know what they might
do to you. She made up her mind.
It's the only thing I
can do to help. All right.
There's no doubt the Kiowas are gathering
to get ready for the attack on the fort.
How many you think? About every
brave who can ride a horse.
You can't hide
that many Indians.
You can decoy your opposition by sending
out small parties to strike at everything.
That'll keep the colonel running in every
direction. Would Corwin know to do this?
He's a professional soldier,
isn't he?
Then when Meade's patrols are out,
he'll hit the fort with a big attack.
You told Meade about
this? Yeah, I told him.
What is our job?
We'll break up into scouting parties
to see if Corwin uses this plan.
Let the raiding parties go out,
then trail 'em to the main force.
That way we'll know
where it is.
Remember, if any of us are seen
or heard, the fat's in the fire.
Let's go.
Who's gonna play hide-and-go-seek
this time? I'll take this bunch.
All here.
We move fast, Satanta.
Make sure horse do not
stumble. Kiowas ride over you.
That's the spirit.
When the attack starts,
we keep going until everyone
inside the fort is killed.
My tribe take big chance. It's
no chance: it's a certainty.
You make mistake,
you make no more.
Stop worrying. just start
counting the loot.
Well, I saw it.
How'd it look?
Biggest war party in local
history headin' in this direction.
Them Kiowas sure been breedin'
fast. Was Corwin with them?
It's Corwin. I got a
glimpse of Satanta too.
That fella with all them
sergeants' stripes on his tepee?
Better warn Meade. Listen, Meade
would rather have you in irons...
than beat the Kiowas. He'll have
his chance to do both. Mount up.
Back to give yourself up?
Where are all the men?
Out on patrol.
How soon will those patrols
return? They just went out.
What difference does it make?
Drop your sidearms on the floor.
How many men are here? He said drop
your sidearm. You're under arrest.
Twenty? Forty? Fifty? Twenty.
Think you can put my whole
detachment under arrest? Just you.
You'll need even me. In
a half hour, every Kiowa...
in this territory's gonna be climbing
these walls. I don't believe that.
You oughta have more faith,
Colonel. Put it on the table.
You're adding one charge after another!
I'll see you in front of a firing squad!
You won't live to see anything
if we don't get moving.
Pile up
all your ammunition.
Set your artillery up
on the north wall.
Put your women and children
in the powder magazine.
I'll give the orders!
By that time, the Kiowas
will be finishing your meal!
You lost your rank when you deserted!
That's for a court-martial to decide!
I'll make sure of that!
Open the gate!
Sir, we sighted a full force of
Kiowas heading toward the fort.
Very well.
Major, take charge
of your bunch.
I'll handle the troops
that are left.
Is that all the ammunition you
could find? That's all, sir.
We'll need 20 times that.
Not with these old pieces.
Six rounds
and they'll blow up.
What good is artillery here? What good's
a fort with a hill lookin' down its throat?
Nobody will be able to move inside this
compound. You're overdramatizing things.
Aw, there's one
in every fort.
Get that man's name!
Come on, boy!
Get him inside. Inside,
ladies. That's it.
Brady, it can't be
this bad.
Your husband and every Kiowa in
this territory are dropping in on us.
That's right,
spread it out.
As fast as you can.
I'd rather stay out here. I
want to see him for myself.
You'll be tortured if you're
caught. He wouldn't let them.
Once those Kiowas get inside,
nothing will stop them. Where's Avis?
She's in the quartermaster
warehouse, held as a prisoner.
I'd better get her.
Brady!
Oh, Pino, I'm so glad
to see you!
I am glad too, Avis. Put
her in the powder magazine.
No!
Go with Pino!
But why
the powder magazine?
If necessary, we'd both
rather see you die that way.
Avis, you must do as
the major says. Yes.
It is time I listened
to other people. Go on.
One of those guns is out!
The other ain't got far to go!
Brady, never
have I been so wrong...
and somebody else
so right.
I owe you more
than I can say.
Luke, get every man you can. Try to
drive the Kiowas out through the gate.
Wilks, get the colonel
into his office.
Maygro! Pino!
You men come with me!
Right here!
Oh, Brady.
Good luck, Major. Take
care of the Seminoles, sir.
Don't worry about them.
You just take care of Elaine.
You've made the word
'Seminole' an honorable one.
The days will be long till you
return. We'll be back someday.
Troops! Atten-shun!