Original subtitles

♪♪ [ trumpet ]

Howdy. I'm the Old Ranger,

and Death Valley's my stampin' ground.

Many's the tale of adventure I'm going to tell you about the Death Valley country.

True stories, mind you. I can vouch for that.

This story goes back more than a hundred years

to the great California Gold Rush of 1849.

In the fall of that year, a small group of pioneers,

too impatient to take the long loop southward

from Salt Lake City to the Santa Fe Trail,

left the main caravan and struck out due west.

It was country no white man had ever crossed,

but this shortcut, they figured,

would save them a good 500 miles,

and anything that would get them

to the rainbow's end quicker was worth the gamble.

Among those who broke away, and by so doing,

was destined to go down in history,

was a bunch of adventurous fellows

who call themselves the Jay-hawkers--

Asabel Bennett, a Wisconsin farmer...

his wife, Sarah...

and their family;

James Arcane, a former storekeeper from the South,

his son, Charlie,

and his wife, Virginia;

and a young frontiersman by the name of Louis Manly.

How about a drink of water for me, Virgie?

MEN: Whoa!

Whoa! Whoa!

What's the trouble, Reineson?

Some of us up front don't like the looks of this country.

Two days without a blade of grass. We're turning back.

How many wagons? Seven.

And I advise the rest of you to follow suit.

We're sticking.

Aren't we, Sarah? Whatever you say, Asabel.

The country is getting rougher.

Perhaps we'd be wise not to go any farther.

Well, we've come this far. We might as well keep going.

Well, I'm turning back.

We're keeping on, Mr. Culverwell.

Half of the cussed outfit's mine, Mr. Fish.

Yep. But I own the front half,

and all you can do is follow. [ whip cracks ]

Well, pass the word along.

Anybody who wants to join Reineson is free to do so.

Every man makes his own decisions.

That is, with the exception Culverwell and Fish.

Well, good luck to you.

Good luck to you. So long.

Turn back!

Hyah!

[ whistling ]

Hyah! [ whistling ]

Hyah!

[ men spurring horses ]

[ whistling ] [ shouting continues ]

The country became rougher and more barren with every mile.

No signs of water, almost nothing for the animals to feed on.

Then, just when things begun to look grim indeed,

they came to a life-giving spring.

This is how you do her, Charlie.

Thanks. See? She's easy.

That's a mighty good whiplash you got there, Enoch. I'll buy it from you.

Oh, she ain't for sale.

Ain't no amount of money would make me part with this here whip.

[ whip cracks ]

Instead of showing off,

why aren't you helping me fix this harness, Mr. Fish?

Because my half don't need fixin', Mr. Culverwell.

Ooh!

[ horse whinnying ] [ whip cracks ]

Come on, boy. Hey. Whoa.

Whoa! Whoa! [ sputters ]

Whoa, boy! Come on! [ grunts ]

[ whinnying ]

[ whinnying continues ]

His shoe is loose, and I can't get near enough to him to fix it.

Here. Let me do it for you.

Whoa, boy. Steady. Steady. [ sputters ]

[ sputters ] Whoa. Whoa.

Whoa. [ sputters ]

Whoa, boy.

I don't see why he stands so still for you.

He knows Lewis isn't afraid of him.

Is there anything you can't do, Lewis?

It's all in what you're used to.

That's right. Supposin' he had to run a store now.

No. I couldn't stand that.

Trapped behind a counter?

I don't want anything between me and the rest of the world.

It's mighty handy sometimes.

I miss it.

Well, I'll take this back to Mr. Bennett.

Thing that puzzles me is how such a tenderfoot as him--

if you'll excuse my saying so--

ever set out on such a journey in the first place.

I reckon I encouraged him.

I like the things money can buy--

clothes and fun.

I suppose you think that's being vain, silly.

Oh, no, ma'am. If I had a wife like you,

I'd want her to like pretty things,

and I'd see that she got 'em.

How much longer you folks aiming to tarry here, Bennett?

Well, the women and children need rest, Ed.

We all do.

Well, us Jayhawkers are getting impatient.

We don't wanna waste any more time, so we're pushing on.

You can't leave us.

Our food supply is getting mighty low,

and the country up ahead don't look good.

Sure. No reason to hold him up

because of us with families, Arcane.

How about you, Manly? You're unattached.

Thanks, Ed, but I'm sticking with the Arcanes.

And the Bennetts.

How about you fellas?

Yep. No.

I'm traveling fast as I care to already, Mr. Culverwell.

Well, now you're gonna travel faster, Mr. Fish.

My half is staying here, Mr. Culverwell.

And mine's going on, Mr. Fish, even--

even if I have to cut the dad-blame wagon in half!

Well, that suits me fine, Mr. Culverwell. Me too!

Maybe we'll get rid of this dad-blasted argument! Arguing?

Will you listen to the...

[ overlapping shouting ]

Hold up, boys. Hold it up.

Where would either one of you get with half a wagon?

You might as well saw your animals in half.

Well, which is it?

I guess I got no choice but to stick with the ship.

[ chuckles ]

And so the little party, reduced now to three wagons,

continued on its way over the unknown trail,

and with every mile, every yard,

the going got rougher and drier.

It was Christmas day, 1849,

when their wagons creaked slowly down a wash through a mountain canyon

and came out into a narrow sink--

the floor of which, from a distance,

looked to be lakes of blessed water,

but which proved to be beds of burning salt.

Across these flats, 300 feet below sea level,

this little party crawled.

Mile after agonizing mile, their eyes and hopes fixed

on the distant hills on the other side.

No longer could they make ten miles a day,

or nine or eight.

Loads were lightened, possessions discarded.

But the distant hills, when they finally reached them,

were as unfriendly as those they had left behind.

And it now took four animals to do the work of two.

We can't go no farther.

It's a dead end, all right.

We never should have taken that shortcut.

Look where it's led us-- straight into a trap.

We should've turned back. We should've turned back.

I wanted to. I wanted to! All right, quiet.

There's a way out of every place.

We'll find it.

One thing is certain: you can't abandon your wagons.

Not with women and children in the party.

You folks stay here, and I'll scout for a way through.

You know how much food we got left?

We'll pool it.

Cut our rations down still further.

And have faith.

"I will lift mine eyes unto the hills."

SARAH: "From whence cometh my help."

SARAH, ASABEL: "My help cometh from the Lord,

"which made heaven and earth.

"The Lord shall preserve thy going out

"and thy coming in from this time forth,

and even for evermore."

Thy coming in and thy going out.

Amen.

After two days of scouting,

Manly made his report.

Well, there's no way through it.

We'll have to go back to the floor of the valley and go around.

You can't pull the wagons without horses.

What happened to them?

Broke loose last night.

We tried to track 'em, but it was too rocky.

Only thing left to do is for somebody to go out on foot

and try to make it to the settlement and get some food and help.

Yeah. We'll draw straws to see who goes.

Yeah.

Never mind the straws. I'll go.

Asabel, no!

I won't let you. Now, Sarah--

I've never interfered before.

Ever since we started on this terrible journey,

I've taken what came, done my part.

But this is too much.

Martha, our little girl-- she's dying.

If you leave her now, you'll never see her again.

Sarah, please.

I'll go.

I knew he would. And I'll go.

You? Why not?

Two would be better than one, Arcane,

but, well, I don't think you'd ever make it.

If you can, I can. But, James, you're in no condition--

I'm as fit as anybody. When do we start?

Right now.

But remember one thing:

I won't be slowed up.

Make a note of that peak yonder.

Be a landmark to guide us on our way back.

[ soft thud ]

[ grunts ]

Get up.

I can't. I gotta rest.

So you're as fit as anybody.

[ chuckles ] If Virgie could only see you now.

Water!

Salt. It'll kill you.

I don't care. It's water.

Water!

All right. Go ahead and drink it.

Make your wife a widow.

Yeah.

I kind of like that idea.

I'll kill you, Manly.

I'll kill you!

I'll kill you.

I'll kill you!

You'll have to catch me first.

A fit man could catch me. Come on.

I'll kill... Come on.

Oh...

[ grunts ]

Well, that makes seven.

Seven days they've been gone.

How long you figure we can hold out?

I told Manly ten, 15 at most.

Martha any better? Why should she be?

Look at her. Time like this.

Why not, if it takes her mind off things?

Sarah.

There's no sin in liking pretty clothes.

I wish now I'd had more when I had the chance.

And more good times.

I'm hungrier than that, Mama.

Give him my share.

More.

We all get the same, Enoch.

I said more!

Put that whip down.

I'll trade it with you.

For a hunk of meat. Just a little piece of meat.

Next.

It's a good whiplash.

Made of the finest rawhide.

Feel it. Try it.

Sorry, Enoch. There can be no exception.

Well, then, give me my share of what's left right now.

I'm striking out on foot.

Well.

CULVERWELL: You've lost your rudder, matey.

Don't be a fool.

How far do you think you can get by yourself?

He never even argued.

Give me my share. I'm going with him.

Hey, matey!

Hey, matey, wait for me!

I'm coming with ya!

With only sheer determination driving them,

Manly and Arcane struggled on.

[ grunts ]

Ohh...

You could've made it without me.

I doubt it.

Funny, I used to be scared of dying,

but I'm not anymore.

Except for-- for Virgie and-- and the boy.

May He have mercy on 'em.

Do you think that He has any part in this?

Yeah. He's up there.

Look,

let's get as close to Him as we can,

so He'll be sure to find us.

[ groaning ]

[ grunts ]

[ grunting ]

[ groaning ]

Hey... Look.

[ laughs ]

Oh!

[ chuckling ] [ muttering ]

[ chuckling ]

Ohh! [ laughing ]

[ laughing ]

MARTHA: 18, 19,

20, 21.

They've been gone 21 days, Papa.

21 days.

"And the Lord shall help them and deliver them.

"He shall deliver them from the wicked and save them

because they trust in Him."

With horses and a pack mule laden with supplies,

Manly and Arcane started back.

But the horses gave out all too soon.

So once more, they traveled afoot, day after day,

till at last they reached the mountains

that form the western rim of the dreaded valley.

If only they weren't too late.

She's still breathing, just.

I never knew folks swelled up

when they were starving.

Her little body.

And her hands, like claws.

Asa, no!

Martha's dying, Sarah! She's got to have nourishment.

We've got three children to think of, not just one.

We need the critters to take us out.

Out? We'll never get out.

If they was coming back, they'd be here by now.

Don't lose faith, Asa. Wait.

I've waited all I can stand.

You're not gonna kill him.

Your boy needs food too!

I said, you're not gonna kill him, until Sarah says so.

Please, Asa.

MANLY: So they didn't wait.

Not a sign of life.

Looks bad.

[ rifle fires ]

[ rifle fires ]

They're here. They're here!

[ chuckles ]

Sarah, they've come back!

They're here! Oh!

Virgie, they've come! Come!

They're here! They've come!

They're here!

Thank God! Ohh!

Oh! [ chuckles ]

Bless you.

[ Arcane chuckles ] [ Virginia sobs ]

Oh, God bless you!

Thanks, Lewis, for bringing him back.

Shucks, ma'am. He brought hisself back.

He's a real man.

Good-bye, Death Valley.

Manly Beacon this peak is called today.

An enduring symbol of the courage,

faith and loyalty that brings men through.

And that is a true story of how Death Valley got its name.

♪♪ [ trumpet ]