Original subtitles

Sheriff, I'm done for.

Get a doctor.

Here's Prescott.

Here's Spen.

My name is Jeff Bullock, and I tamed the wildest gold camp in the West, a little

outpost deep in Indian territory called Deadwood.

Deadwood wasn't even part of the United States, so U .S. law did not apply

there. It was as wild as a town could be.

As Deadwood's first sheriff, I faced every kind of danger the frontier could

muster. Indian warriors, highway robbers, evil entrepreneurs like Al

Waringen, and hard -up miners thieving with a murderous lust for gold.

Civilization hung by a thread in that community every day.

That's what made Bullock so extraordinary.

If he had to do it with his bare hands, he was going to hold that community

together.

I've seen it all. I've lived to tell about it.

First to my dear friend Roosevelt, and now to you.

To this day, they call me a pioneer in the Black Hills, and this is the true

story of how I came to be one.

Bullock was as brave as any man on the West.

People were afraid of him. He would just as soon kill you as to be a friend of

yours.

Listen while I tell you the tale of Black Hills Gold.

Turn back the clock, back to 1874.

The Custer Expedition said there's gold here to be found.

Come one, come all, your fortune can be picked up off the ground. It was the

gold rush of 76.

Dakota was the crime.

In 1876 we came, some stayed, some left, some died.

Those were the days the West was wild. We mined with pans and picks, and

Deadwood made its mark in time in the days of 70.

What a great name, Deadwood. When you think about town names in the West,

Tombstone, Deadwood, I mean, they resonate with the romance of the West.

Deadwood, of course, grows out of illegality.

And then it thrives on it for all of its early history. It's a town that is

fueled by the central tenant that drove the entire West, and that's greed.

The West had been one mining boom after another since the big strike in 49. And

some of the miners who had been in the California gold rush were in that final

rush into the Black Hills.

It helped to define the West.

for a whole generation of Americans. And, of course, it became so identified

with the Great Sioux War, Custer's Last Stand, Wild Bill Hickok's death.

I mean, this was the center of the Wild West when it was

its wild.

Ah, Seth Bullock.

was among the many who rode for the Black Hills on the heels of the gold

But I wasn't going there to mine gold, so much as to mine the miners.

I set out from Montana in late July of 76 with my friend Saul Starr at the head

of a wagon train filled with supplies to sell to the prospector.

We made for Deadwood knowing full well that with great opportunity comes great

risk.

But never was that adage so true as in the Dakotas that summer.

All the trails to Deadwood would suffer Indian attacks.

When Bullock and Starr came down with their wagon train from Bismarck, they

certainly saw remnants of a recent Indian attack, and they were surprised

themselves that they were not attacked. After all, this was an incursion into

the Great Sioux Reservation.

It was, as everybody says, an illegal settlement.

And so they should have been wary.

They're trespassers.

Boys, these folks are coming with us.

Charlie, Ed, you keep a lookout.

Saul, you make room in the wagon.

The longer we stand here, the more like it is. We're going to join them. Now

move!

I'm not a man who believes in omens.

But if I were, I'd count that as one.

In Deadwood, blood would prove as regular a side as whiskey, and it would

in from the day I got there.

We arrived to word that the infamous pistolier Wild Bill Hickok had been shot

dead just the day before.

By a shameless ne 'er -do -well named Jack McCall.

Take that, damn you!

This is the end of Hickok and his West, but also his brand of

lawman.

Hickok certainly had a great physicality about him, but he also had a sort of

flashiness about him that almost made him a marked man.

A man like Seth Billock went under the radar a little more easily and was just

quiet enforcer.

It was clear from the get -go that if I was going to turn a profit in this camp,

it would first need a measure of stability and order.

Of course, Deadwood wasn't my first rodeo.

I spent the past two years rounding up the ruffians over in Helena, Montana, as

sheriff of Lewis and Clark County.

There, I discovered that even the most unbridled mob will answer to a six

-shooter and a firm result.

Stand down!

Stand down, damn it, or I'm taking some of you down with me.

In Montana, he presided over a hanging in front of a lynch mob that wanted to

hang the guy, but Seth was going to do it legal.

Now, you all want to tear this man to pieces, and he may damn well deserve it.

Hold!

This man has been sentenced to hang.

Legally and illegal hanging is what he'll get. That's too easy. Make him

He needs to burn for what he's done.

And burn he will, but not on this earth. Even though the executioner had fled,

he held the mob off with a gun in one hand and managed to hang the guy with

other.

You see almost everything about his personality in that act.

He wills order, and he will embrace disorder in order to achieve order.

That's a good quality in a lawman.

He could rule by the force of his personality and his will. People thought

would kill you, take you down if he wanted to.

As I saw it, there were two immediate priorities in Deadwood.

Protect the prospectors from each other.

and protect us all from the natives.

They're fearful of attack.

They recognize leaving the Black Hills, you're always at risk, you're always in

danger, and of course they dislike it. They see them as impeding the progress,

so it's a problem.

On August 20th, 18 days after Wild Bill was killed, our worst fears were

realized when Crazy Horse and 100 of his tribesmen swept through the hills.

word spread that there was Indians attacking a horse herd out on the

And it was a Sunday. All the miners are in town on Sunday having a big old time,

and they all dash out and capture the Indians, get their horses, and in the

process, two more whites are killed.

Soon enough, General Crook and his forces came through and took care of our

Indian problem.

In September, the Sioux made their last stand at the Battle of Slim Butte.

Their defeat left them no choice but to sell the Black Hills to the United

States. From then on, we were no longer living in enemy territory.

But it wasn't long before we found a new enemy among our own.

And we soon realized the real threat to Deadwood's survival wasn't the Indians.

Get your hands up high where I can see them.

It was outlaws.

In the fall of 1876, Deadwood Gulch had gold fever.

Over that summer, a million dollars worth of gold had been pulled out of the

hills around camp, and I, Seth Bullock, had a plan to profit without ever

swinging a pickaxe.

It was mass hysteria coming up here, and before long, there was over 6 ,000

habitants in Deadwood.

Not only had you the prospect of the people hoping to get rich by mining, you

had the people who mined the miners, and that was the merchants, the Chinese

came and set up laundries and restaurants.

But then you had people like Sol Star and Seth Bullock coming here with 30

wagons of merchandise and supplying the mining camp. A lot of opportunities to

make it rich in Deadwood other than mining.

Our store.

Starr and Bullock Hardware was primed to meet every prospector's demand.

And with the Indian threat on the wane after the U .S. Army fought the Sioux

into submission, there seemed no limit to the money we could make.

He opened several hardware stores.

He buys mining property, establishes a ranch.

He always wanted to make money.

On the other hand, he recognizes that if he and Starr are going to prosper, that

they need order, they need stability, and he's going to provide that.

Wherever there's money to be made, there's bound to be ne 'er -do -wells

to steal it.

And Deadwood was full of them.

Would -be prospectors came late to the party and found all the good claims were

taken.

So when the gold started flowing out of the hills, bound for the nearest banks

in Wyoming and Montana,

trails faced a new kind of danger every bit as savage as the Indians.

Deadwood was so isolated, and there really were very few roads in and out of

there. It didn't take much rocket science to figure out that, well, that's

the money is.

Most of the gold that left town was bound for Banks, 200 miles south in

Cheyenne. That's where the nearest railhead was, so it was the fastest way

send the money east or west.

But getting a stagecoach to Cheyenne was no picnic.

It was very treacherous. The terrain was rocky, it was rough, it was hilly, it

was steep.

It was not an easy journey.

Running a single coach to Cheyenne took some 600 horses switched out along the

route. At an average of eight miles an hour, it took two days to make the trek.

And at any point along the trail, evil and desperate men could be lurking.

It's like shooting fish in a barrel.

You know, you're out in the middle of nowhere, especially in the hills,

a lot of cover.

Pretty easy picking, I guess.

Early on in my Deadwood days, I found out firsthand just how dangerous the

journey was.

I was riding shotgun to Cheyenne with $65 ,000 worth of gold.

This robber's roost up ahead.

I got a bad feeling this time, Mr. Bullock.

Yeah?

And I got 20 dimes in this scattergun.

We'd all like to learn to be somewhat fearless.

A lot of us let our inhibitions get in the way of some things we do, and he

never did.

I just hope it's enough.

We bound to get Robson on this much bullion.

I want to speak up, Wes.

Hate the bad guys didn't hear you.

Get your hands up high where I can feel them.

There's a lot I'd prefer to forget about that night.

But suffice it to say, that next morning...

that highwayman was found dead.

I think that Bullock was afraid of the chaos in his soul, because when he lost

it, he lost it all away.

I think it frightened him, and he did something about it. He became a force

order, not only in his own nature, but in the community as a whole.

Deadwood itself was no less dangerous than the roads into it.

Within months of my arrival, The Gulch was home to 75 saloons and dozens of

other parlors of ill repute.

If you're a highwayman, you make your money on the trail. What are you going

do with your money? You're going to go someplace where you think is the most

easy to spend it and enjoy it, and they would come to Deadwood.

In a town teeming with vices, Al Swearingen's gem was the crown jewel.

It was a theater. It was a den of iniquity. It was a saloon.

They had prize fights, boxing matches in there. They loved masquerade balls.

You had prostitutes. You pretty much get anything you want at the gym saloon.

The portrayal of Swearingen on Deadwood really calms him down quite a bit. He's

a lot worse than the way he's portrayed.

And that's saying something. He's portrayed as a monster.

He had great imagination, very resourceful guy. He had a bunch of

businesses. He knew what his real business was.

He was a whore master.

He didn't miss a trick in terms of exploitation.

At a time when most frontier families were scraping by on about $600 a year,

Swearingen was pocketing $5 ,000 on an average night.

He was the king of the part of town we called the Badlands.

where every kind of drug, drink, and depravity was ripe for the taking, and

where men with weak wills routinely parted with their fortunes.

Sam Bath and Joel Collins were just these sort of fellows.

They had just driven a herd of cattle up from Texas, for which they were paid $8

,000. But that kind of money didn't last long in the Badlands.

Spent all their money from shipping the cattle up and didn't have anything to go

back home with, so they turned to what maybe would have been the easiest money,

and that was robbery.

Oh, wee.

Good God, Sam.

Did you ever for one minute think there'd be such a sweet pot of gold at

of the trail?

Well, it's held in.

Well, ain't you laying on a little foot in the... He ain't even paid you yet.

Look at me like you're the cheapest woman in camp.

Maybe she just knows a real man when she sees one.

Hey! Hey!

You boys know the only fight not allowed in here is in that ring.

What do you want to ruin a good time for?

I'll tell you what I'm going to do.

I'm going to get these drinks topped off, and then I'm going to have two of

finest dubs give you boys a private tour of the upstairs.

All compliments won't go out.

All right, keep an eye on them.

Make sure the drinks stay full.

And then have the ladies lighten their load a little bit.

When their fortunes ran dry in Deadwood, Bass and Collins formed the Black Hills

Bandits. They soon set their sights on the trail to Cheyenne and robbed seven

stagecoaches in quick succession.

With our main connection to the wider world under siege, Commerce and Deadwood

ground to a halt.

It was clear someone had to step up and lay down the law.

And as it happened, I was fast becoming Deadwood's enforcer.

Dr. Babcock is on his way.

I'm sorry this happened, J .C.

I am too, Seth.

They're in there.

Barely a month after I arrived in Deadwood, I was called to intervene in a

bloody claim dispute between two mining companies.

The men from the Aurora were shooting at the men from the Keats' neighboring

mine. Disputes overground.

J .C. Tuttle was killed in this exchange.

And here Bullock intercedes by himself.

And these men are armed, and they're shooting, and they've killed a guy.

I'm going to need you Keats boys to drop your arms and come out now.

I can hit him.

Right between the eyes, before he'll even blink.

Maybe you can.

But you ain't gonna.

Let's go, fellas.

Nobody here wants more bloodshed, but you can be sure that's what you're gonna

get if you don't comply.

Hands in the air!

He walks in and he just arms him. And then... He arrests them, and he hauls

of them away.

And then he comes back later and arrests more of them because he's not

satisfied. I don't think many people could step up and do that. It takes a

of courage, maybe almost foolish courage, but a lot of guts, a lot of

We're through here, boys.

Everyone back to your camps before you do something you'll regret.

As the violence continued to escalate in and around Deadwood, those of us with

an interest in turning the tide formed a board of commissioners.

Being the only member with lawman experience, I assumed the unofficial

sheriff.

But there was a new stranger in town who had his own sights set on the job.

Evening, Mr. Bullock.

Evening, Mr.

Erb, is it?

That's right, Wyatt Earp.

Well, Wyatt Earp being in Deadwood is one of the least known parts of his

career.

Earp was attracted to the place because it was a booming, boom town. That's what

he was about.

But the mining claims had been snapped up, the good ones at least, pretty

quickly. And Wyatt Earp turned his thoughts to perhaps picking up the job

sheriff. We're closed for the day, but you're welcome back tomorrow.

I'm not here to make a purchase, sir.

I was hoping I might speak with you and the commissioners about the matter of a

county sheriff.

There's been talk that you fellows might be looking for one. I'd like to state

my interest.

Being as I served before in Kansas, and have a good fence or piece of the corral

in the undesirables, which this camp certainly has no shortage.

Seth Bullock, though, already had that job nailed down.

There wasn't enough room in Deadwood for both of those lawmen.

Well, I think I can speak for the group.

in expressing our thanks for the offer, but the position's been filled.

I see.

May I ask by whom, sir?

An announcement will be forthcoming shortly.

Now, to excuse us, we have some press and business to attend.

Certainly.

Pardon the intrusion, gentlemen.

My understanding is you... Came in the fall and stayed all winter and basically

chopped wood.

He was very popular with the girls and all that.

Kind of made his way.

It's kind of really interesting that he did not leave his mark there. He's kind

of anonymous.

Wyatt Earp supposedly said that the gunmen and dead were the deadliest he'd

seen with the possible exception of Tunstall.

Earp skipped town for good in March 1877.

The same month I was officially appointed the first sheriff of Lawrence

Within days, I had my first crisis on my hands.

Sam Bass and his Black Hills Bandits had struck again.

And this time, they took more than gold.

They took a good man's life.

She comes.

Oh, man, I bet she's loaded.

Hot dog.

All right, boys, lay low and follow my lead.

In March of 1877, I, Seth Bullock, was named the first sheriff of Lawrence

County, South Dakota.

That same month, a band of local thugs, led by Joel Collins and the soon -to -be

-infamous Sam Bass, gave me a baptism by gunfire.

All right, boys!

Well, after they'd squandered all of the money they'd gotten from cattle,

they... Basically decided that rather than actually work for a living, it

be easier to hold up stagecoaches.

The stagecoach is coming up the trail from Cheyenne to Deadwood, and it

really stop as commanded.

Johnny Slaughter was driving, and when he yelled at them to get out of the way,

they all turned and they had guns pointed at him.

One of the outlaws with the shotgun blew Johnny Slaughter off the stage, causing

the horses to bolt.

The bullet killed Johnny Slaughter on the spot.

Well, would you look at that?

Got me two for one.

I guess I ought to go check his wallet.

The outlaws fled pretty much in disarray, and the stagecoach made it

Deadwood, where the passengers told the story, and a group of men went back and

found Slaughter's body.

That day, the trail that had become our lifeline was stained with death.

This time, not by Indians, but by our own kind.

And it fell on me to bring justice to the perpetrators.

These men will be found.

And when they are, they'll pay dearly for what they've done.

Johnny Slaughter is a fairly famous guy. His dad was a marshal down in Cheyenne,

and so this was kind of a big outrage.

After the murder, I posted a handsome reward for the arrest of the shooter, a

brazen young hot shot by the name of Reddy McKimmy.

And I made it my mission to bring him to justice.

It wasn't long before he and his partners felt the pressure.

Grady McKimmy was considered to be something of a loose cannon, even among

outlaws. He was a little deranged. They thought McKimmy was going to get them

all hung, basically. I think they were right.

His behavior was too erratic, and he was dangerous possibly even to them.

What do you take this for, Grady?

Buffalo Bill?

This ain't no stage play.

There's going to be heat from this, McKinney.

Your chief finger's going to get us all in hot water.

Damn it, Joel.

Ain't showboating.

It's kill or be killed.

I sure as hell saw that messenger reaching for a shotgun, and I did what

be done when you fellas stood there frozen.

Who's frozen now, McKinney, huh?

Who's on the working end now?

Take it easy, Sam. Take it easy, nothing.

I ain't about to let some boy get mixed up in man's work.

Your hand over your head, ready?

I'm going to kill you right here.

Now you walk away.

You keep on walking.

And if you don't look back and you keep your trap shut, you might end up with

the 1877.

For weeks after Slaughter's murder, the trail was quiet.

We made sure every coach to and from Cheyenne was heavily fortified with

men who were ready to shoot to kill.

Sam Bass and Joel Collins were smart enough to take the hint and leave the

hills. A few months later, they made the papers coast to coast after they pulled

off the largest train heist in history, robbing more than $60 ,000 from a Union

Pacific train down in Nebraska.

But McKimmy stuck around, and it wouldn't be long before he found trouble

Meanwhile, back in town, I had my hands full with the undesirables who frequent

in Deadwood's less reputable establishment.

There have always been colorful people in Deadwood.

There still are.

Shot a whiskey and flop it over the brim.

Yes, sir!

Attaboy, Bucky. Leave the bum.

One of the most colorful was Martha Jane Canary, who I'd reckon you'd know as

Calamity Jane.

Calamity Jane really matched her name. She dressed as a man to make her way

the group. Interesting individual. She had a big heart, but she also was loud,

obnoxious, hard -drinking prostitute.

Jane. by all external appearances, would seem to be a ruffian of some kind. And

she was so very tender and soft.

And all of that was thrown up as a vast defense against attack.

If it isn't the man of the hour.

Ah, suck it, Flaringen.

Oh, no, Candy Lips, that's your job.

Of course, now, you might make a better living of it if you scrape off his hide

and put on a pretty little house dress.

And don't forget to shave.

Give my regards to the devil, Boone!

Shootouts were a fairly common occurrence in Deadwood, but never did I

close to eternity as the night Boone May and Prescott Webb went at it out on

Main Street.

May was a stagecoach shotgun messenger more brutal than any outlaw, and he had

recently been held up by Webb and his cronies out on the trail.

Well, lo and behold, he sees Prescott Webb on Main Street. Next thing you

they're shooting each other.

And as they're shooting each other, then Bullock and some deputies run up to try

to see what's going on.

And Prescott Webb gets injured. He takes a bullet. He's trying to grab a horse.

He's trying to get away, but he's been shot.

Damn!

I'm done for!

Prescott Webb starts saying things like, I've had it. I'm a goner. I'm all done,

boy.

Get a doctor!

Bullock gets pretty close to him, and the guy raises his gun and clicks it

twice, and it missed fire twice.

Bullock could have been shot, could have been mortally wounded, and it could

have ended his career right then and there.

Here's Prescott.

You're spent.

But you're right about one thing.

You're done for.

Take him in, boys.

Despite the odds heavily stacked against us, we started making headway in

Deadwood by the summer of 77.

But out on the trail, new trouble was brewing that threatened to nullify our

progress. Sam Bass and Joel Collins were long gone, but another gang was

emerging to fill the void.

Within its ranks was a familiar thug whose trigger finger was as itchy as

Reddy McKimmy had partnered up with the Hat Creek Gang, and before the year was

out, They'd managed to steal thousands of dollars in gold, murder a respected

lawman, and resolve two destinies, yours truly.

Worried he had the mother load found for Cheyenne tonight.

Dunk, if I had a nugget for every time you said that, I could quit hustling for

good.

Wait for my signal.

In the summer of 1877, Sam Bass and his Texas boys left Deadwood, scared off by

the heat around the Johnny Slaughter killing.

But the thug who pulled the trigger that night, a reckless young ruffian named

Reddy McKimmy, pressed his luck and hung around Deadwood.

It wasn't long before he fell in with a new gang of ne 'er -do -wells intent on

robbing the stage, and I was determined to bring them to justice.

Dunk Blackburn headed up the Hat Creek gang.

so named for the stagecoach station nearest his base of operations.

Blackburn had been an employee of the stage line there, and turned criminal

an insider's knowledge of its vulnerabilities.

Throughout the summer of 77, his gang held the Cheyenne -Deadwood Trail under

siege.

Boys, this is a holy place for road agents.

Stop that team, damn you!

Put your hands up!

Hey!

If another shot is fired, everybody dies.

Well, now, out, everybody.

I don't want any sudden moves.

Oh, don't worry, gentlemen.

We'll have you on your way shortly. This won't take long.

Oh, what do we got here? A little Spanish silver?

I'll have that, too.

Thank you kindly.

I want you a pretty little thing.

Go ahead.

See to your driver.

For the second time that year, a bullet from the gun of Reddy McKimmy stained

the Cheyenne Trail in blood.

Cy Hawley, the driver of the stage, took a bullet in the thigh.

But he would survive.

Where are the banks going to learn these locks? Ain't nothing a little close. We

can't care.

The gold shipments out of the Blackfields were always in danger, and

company to Deadwood from Cheyenne would then put us in what they called a

treasure coach, one of which they named the Johnny Slaughter coach, coated it

with iron plates, secured a steel box or an iron box to the floor, which the

manufacturer assured people would not be vulnerable for.

opening for 24 hours. But the outlaws just blew it up, and they would just

the money, rip it, or they didn't care. They just wanted the note. So they would

blast their way through these.

Okay, go!

Go!

Woo -hoo!

Drinks are on me!

It's been a pleasure.

Thank you very much, folks. It's been a pleasure.

That's Dumber.

Deadwood looked to me to stem the tide of stage robberies.

With the next sheriff's election only weeks away, the pressure was mounting,

the press only fueled the flames.

There is a nest of these vile marauders in the vicinity of the Cheyenne River,

and the authorities must make an effort to rid the country at once of such

monsters.

Something must and will be done.

The first stage robber captured will be hung, and so will the last one. And some

of them are now nearer to eternity than they suppose.

Well, you know what you all gotta do then, don't you?

What's that, Randy?

Don't be the first or last one to get captured is all.

It was mid -October before I finally got a solid lead on the Hat Creek gang's

whereabouts.

Rancher in the area.

said there's a camp out there that seems to be a little suspicious.

And so he notified Bullock.

Sure as hell must be a lot of gold holed up somewhere near Deadwood. It ain't

come through here yet.

I almost wish they'd put a company of cavalry on our trail.

At least then we could make some money out of the horses.

In that moment, my re -election as Lawrence County Sheriff hung in the

Wait for my signal.

After tracking them for months, I finally had those fellas on the line.

All I had to do was reel them in.

Let's move!

It's the law, boys!

And as we're getting close to the ambush, a gun discharges. Then a

ensued.

Hold right there, Blackburn!

During the gunfight, Blackburn is wounded, but they flee.

And Bullock and his men chase after him. Ultimately, Bullock comes back to

Deadwood empty -handed.

Unfortunately, because of his failure to capture these guys, he lost the

election. He was mocked and he was chastised for being ineffective and

bad sheriff and incapable of keeping law.

The sheriff's election didn't go the way I'd hoped.

It's true.

But I was damned if I was going to go quietly into the night.

It wasn't long before Blackburn and most of the Hat Creekers were rounded up

further down the Cheyenne Trail.

But there was one fella still on the loose whom I considered the grand prize.

If I had to follow Reddy McKimmy into the bowels of hell, I was damn sure

to bring him to justice.

By January of 1878, most of Deadwood's notorious highway robbers, including

members of the Hat Creek gang, were dead or in prison.

My tenure as Lawrence County Sheriff was over, largely because I had failed to

collar any of them myself.

But Reddy McKimmy, the most deadly of their outfits, was still on the lam, and

made it my mission to hunt him down, badge or no badge.

Bullock was determined to get McKimmy at least, who was the man who had killed

Johnny Slaughter and wounded at least one other driver.

And he went all the way to Ohio to do it.

Just days after I left the sheriff's office, I got wind that a fellow match

Reddy's description had been spotted in his hometown in Ohio.

His chasing Reddy McKimmy across the country is to redeem his name. A large

of his ego, he had to go and get Reddy, and he would bring him back if he could.

It didn't take long to find him.

There he was, running a dry goods store built on blood money.

We'll keep you here waiting for it. You go ahead and shop around.

Something I can do for you, Mr... You know damn well who I am.

It's closing time, Reddy.

It was my intention to bring McKimmy back west to face justice for the murder

Johnny Slaughter.

But he had outstanding warrants in Ohio as well, and the governor there wanted

him caged on his own home turf.

How'd you like to go with me, Reddy?

Not sure as hell I'd hate to go back west empty -handed.

The gist of seeing you stay is not.

But I'll tell you one thing, Bullock.

I'm going to crease you if I ever get the chance.

I'll take my chances.

But you better look out that I don't get to drop on you first.

That was the last time I ever saw Reddy McKimmy. Ohio locked him up for the next

11 years, after which he was wise enough not to come looking for trouble.

Neither he nor any of his cronies ever faced justice for Johnny Slaughter's

murder.

But at least I got my man.

Most people remember me as part of the ensemble of characters who made up the

fabric of Gold Rush Deadwood.

But as I see it, The defining moment of my life came long after that chaotic

summer of 1876, a chance encounter with a future president who would become a

trusted ally and a dear friend.

Seth Bullock had a cattle ranch outside of Deadwood, and Bullock was out on his

pasture rounding up cattle.

Bullock sees the troop coming with a buckboard and a couple horses covered in

dirt, and he just looks at Gant and what's going on.

You boys looking for something?

Already found him.

This here's Crazy Steve.

We've arrested him on suspicion of horse theft.

We're taking him up to Medora.

Crazy Steve.

You know what I'm saying?

He's wanted down in Deadwood, too.

Who are you?

Well, now... Bully!

Where are my manners?

Name's Roosevelt.

Theodore. Deputy Sheriff Medora.

Roosevelt had fled to the West in the most tragic and traumatic time of his

life. His young wife and his mother had died in his house on the very same day.

And he wrote later that depression rarely can catch up with a man on a fast

horse. And he remade himself, like so many others had remade themselves in the

West, as a rancher, as a cowboy.

And so this Harvard dude really did become a man of the West.

Delighted to meet you, Mr.

Seth Bullock, Dakota Deputy Marshal.

Seth Bullock, in the flesh.

It's truly an honor, sir.

It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Roosevelt.

Your reputation precedes you.

But I must say, by your look, I thought you were some kind of ten -horn gambling

outfit I might have to keep my eye on.

I nearly lost him around the bend over there. We were moving at a pretty good

click, and he jumped right out the back of the wagon.

Roosevelt was always uneasy with the part of himself that had to

be an Easterner. I think he saw a purified version of himself in Bullock,

they delighted in each other.

Cheers to that.

Cheers to that.

For the next 27 years, the Colonel and I were the closest of friends.

I served alongside him in the Rough Riders, and though my unit never did

to Cuba, I was proud to be called captain from then on.

When Roosevelt was in England after his presidency, he called for Bullock to

come join him, and he said, I want to hear somebody that speaks my language of

the West. That's what Roosevelt saw in Bullock. He was quintessential American.

In 1919, President Roosevelt passed away.

Seth Bullock wanted to be one of the first in the country to erect a monument

honor of the lost president.

And so they created the Friendship Tower on Sheep Mountain, which overlooks

Deadwood. Later that year, the same year, Seth Bullock died.

And so the Black Hills Pioneer Society buries him above Mount Roosevelt so that

he can overlook the Friendship Tower and see each other's memorial.

The one word that is on Seth Bullock's epitaph is pioneer.

One word, one word only. It reflects Bullock's entire mentality.

What did the pioneer stand for? They stood for progress.

He was the consummate pioneer.

He came and dug in and stayed and had a huge impact on the development of this

community, the fabric of the Deadwood. I'm going to need you Keats boys to drop

your arms.

And come out now.

I don't know what else you'd call him other than a pioneer.

That's exactly right. And in the absolutely best sense, the process of

the land from another people is not pretty. And we did that. And there were

those of us who redeemed that violation by the way we comported ourselves

subsequently. That was Bullock, and he was a pioneer.

This man has been sentenced to hang.

You're done for.