Original subtitles

Howdy, folks. I'm the Old Ranger,

with an exciting new story of real life in the Old West.

From the time he was 11 years old,

William F. Cody earned his living at one dangerous profession after another--

wagoner, Pony Express rider, stagecoach driver,

buffalo hunter for the railroad, Indian fighter,

guide, and scout for the army.

But Buffalo Bill experienced the most dangerous adventure

of his colorful career as a nursemaid.

Nursemaid to...

DRIVER: Hyah!

Hyah!

Hyah!

Hyah!

Hyah!

Hyah!

Hyah!

Ho!

[ horse snorts ]

Been waiting for ya, Bill.

General Sheridan.

Left Fort McPherson as soon as I got your orders.

Say, if you don't mind my asking you, General,

how do ya figure to use a stagecoach fighting Indians?

The coach isn't going with us, Bill. Neither are you.

I have a much more important assignment for you.

What could be more important than scouting the Sioux when they're kicking up traces?

Looking after the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia.

He just got off the train.

He's on a goodwill tour of the country,

and he wants to see the Wild West.

Prepare to mount.General.

You're not going out after the Sioux and leaving me here playing nursemaid.

Listen, Bill, I can't overemphasize the importance of this job.

Russia was of an enormous help to us during the war.

But I don't care if they won the war.

Listen, Bill, the Czar could break off diplomatic relations with Washington

if something happened to his favorite grandson.

Make him happy, but keep him safe.

[ sighs ] Now look, General. Look, this is no kind of job for me.

I wouldn't know what to do or how to act.

He'll instruct you on protocol.

General Sheridan,

this, uh, guide you were telling his Royal Highness about...

Here he is.

Bill Cody, General Kuragin.

Ah, it is very good you should come.

The Duke is getting very restless.

I won't do it!

I resign!

I'll desert!

You can always depend on Bill.

Ah.

Ah, Mr. Bill, let me tell you about protocol.

You'll be seated in the presence of the Grand Duke

only when he orders you to sit.

You will neither eat nor drink in his company at any time,

and "Your Highness" is the term of respect

with which you will greet him.

Now look, I drink when I'm thirsty, I eat when I'm hungry,

and a man gets my respect when he earns it!

Ah-ah, this duty to which you have been assigned,

you find unbearable, huh?

Look, General...

I've got nothing against you Russians, personally.

But I'm a man that craves excitement and adventure.

And standing around being peaceful and quiet-- [ man shouting in Russian ]

[ continuing ]

Your Highness!

Ha ha!

[ speaking Russian ]

Your Highness, be careful.

[ speaking Russian ]

Ah, I beg you, Your Highness, stay away-- Your Highness!

[ spurring horses ]

[ spurring horses ]

[ spurring horses ]

[ speaking Russian ]

[ hooves grinding ]

[ hooves grinding ]

Ho!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

[ horse snorts ]

You stupid fool!

Do you know to whom you speak?

I sure do. You're Czar's papoose

and I still say that was a stupid trick,

Your Highness!

Who are you?

The name's Cody.

Buffalo Bill Cody? The scout of whom Sheridan spoke?

Oh, don't you ever mention that name to me again!

Let loose of those lines.

What are you gonna do?

I'm gonna get you back to the hotel!

I may not like this job of being your nursemaid,

but now that I got it, I'm gonna relish

stuffing you back in that ermine lined baby buggy of yours!

But-- But Mr. Cody!

Mr. Cody!

That is why I ran away.

Because they insist on treating me like a baby.

All right, settle down, fella, settle down.

A-A-America's supposed to be the land of the free.

But General Kuragin will not permit me to do anything!

Not even one of the three things I wish for most

when I came to your West.

Three things you wanted to do out here?Yes.

Drive a stage,

kill a buffalo,

and-and visit an Indian village.

I have driven a stage,

but I am not going back until I have done the rest.

Can you ride a horse?

What? Yes.

You take mine. I'll take one of these.

We gotta get out of here

before that Russian General and his tin soldiers get here.

Joe, how do you figure a man goes about waking up a Grand Duke?

[ horse neighs ]

Good work. Better be careful, though.

He's liable to turn you into a prime minister or something.

[ sighs ] Good morning.

Breakfast about ready.

How'd you sleep?

Like my great grandfather...

She's a fine country.

Everything is good, fresh, young.

You told me the bill of fare would be skimpy.

This looks like a banquet.

Well, wild grapes, acorn coffee, bark cups.

You understand her ways, Mother Nature can be a pretty good provider.

[ chuckling ]

[ sighs ]

Good. Excellent.

I never expected to dine on shashlik.

Shashlik?

Yeah, in my homeland, the Cossacks cook their meat like this on swords.

It's a very interesting flavor.

Different.

What is it?

Rattlesnake shashlik.

He crawled in about dawn just in time for breakfast.

Here are his rattles.[ rattling ]

Take 'em home for a souvenir.

Rattles in the trophy room?

I cannot see any buffalo.

I guess you're not quite awake yet, Al.

Those willow boughs weren't exactly like your royal bed chamber.

I told you, I never slept so well in my entire life.

But I still cannot see anything.

Can you really see them?

I can smell them and feel them.

So can Lucrezia Borgia.

Pet name for my Springfield.Oh.

[ buffalo stampeding ]

They're coming. You're right, Bill. They're coming!

[ stampeding ]

Quick! I can get a dozen of them.

We're hunters, not killers.

Pick one, one you can be proud of.

That big bull toward the back.

One with the giants horns.

[ gun fires ]

I missed!

No, you didn't.

Indians call Lucrezia Borgia, "Shoot today, kill tomorrow."

[ chuckles ] He'll drop.

Come on.

Now, keep your eyes open.

Wounded bull buffalo can be as dangerous as a runaway stagecoach.

[ horse snorting ]

ALEXIS: She did not get too far.

Looks like a mighty fine shot.

Sure was. Right through the jugular vein.

His head will hang in the trophy room

in the Winter Palace at Saint Petersburg.

Hitting a bull this size calls for a celebration.

Sorry I don't have any vodka.

Spring water will have to do.

To my friend, Buffalo Bill.

[ arrow whooshes ]

Sioux.

Must have us surrounded,

or they would have shot one of us instead of the canteen.

Well, what do they want?

Keep your royal shirt on and I'll find out.

This buffalo is mine.

Yours? That animal is mine.

Mine. Grand Duke Alexis Alexandrovich Romanov.Now, Alex.

I shot the animal through the neck.

I, White Eagle, shot the animal through the heart.

There.

I do not wish to argue with you.

So take this and be off.

Not enough?

All right, take the rest.

Not that I recognize your claim,

but I--

We are men of peace, White Eagle.

My blood brother meant no harm.

This paper's like wampum.

I want only what is mine.

It's mine!

Is your village near here?

I could shoot an arrow there.

You're one of Spotted Tail's people.

Say, suppose we haul the buffalo over to your village

and let him decide who it belongs to.

If the odds are against us here,

what will it be like in an Indian village?

Don't know.

But I'd rather take a chance on their Chief

than your young friend here.

Besides, you'll get that third wish of yours.

[ dogs barking ]

[ children laughing ]

[ speaking native language ]

Many times I hear of you.

Why you called Buffalo Bill?

It's just a name.

You killed many buffalo,

for meat, for men who build railroad.

I hunted for the railroad.

The horns of the great buffalo show that you are a mighty hunter.

No more.

The white man, he killed many buffalo.

He make once mighty herd grow small.

Soon my people go hungry for meat.

The Great White Chief in Washington has set aside land for you.

He has promised that you will not go hungry.

He gives us back our land, our meat.

You think this fair?

To be honest with you, I don't.

But I think that you will be fair.

That is why we have come here, to let you decide.

I shot the animal through the heart.

Yes, after he was already half dead.

I shot--If you came for my decision,

let me decide.

White Eagle, soon you will marry.

Marriage teepee will need cover for floor.

The skin of buffalo will be yours.

I did not kill buffalo for hide, but for head.

I, too, want headdress of great horns.

You have heard my words.

Young man from faraway land,

head with horns will be yours.

[ speaking Russian ]

The meat will go to tribe.

This night we have great feast.

And you and I will share tongue and tenderloin.

When I return to my people,

I will tell them of Spotted Tail's wisdom.

You stay and tell me words of Great White Chief

in Washington, of treaty he wants me to sign.

You can go.

You can take a look around the village,

but don't get into any arguments.

This isn't Saint Petersburg.

[ horse neighs ]

[ horse continues neighing ]

[ man speaking native language ]

[ chuckling ]

[ speaking Russian ]

[ dog barking ]

Oh! Oh, I'm sorry.

No.

I-I should not help you?

It is not right for men to carry firewood.

Well, it can not be right for a girl as beautiful as you

to act as a beast of burden.

And where do they go?

Um, must you go?

Soon it will be dark and then the feasting will begin.

Much wood will be needed for the council fire.

But Chief Spotted Tail only decided on a feast a few minutes ago.

How could you have known?

We Lakota people do not need words.

A signal from one of the braves who was with the chiefs.

Sometimes words are not necessary.

[ man chanting ]

[ continuing ]

[ laughing ]

Let me help you, devushka.

Devushka?

This is strange word to my ears.

It is Russian, Cohantis.

A term of endearment.

But there are many words in your language

which I do not understand.

Why do you refer to your people as Lakota instead of Sioux?

Well, Sioux is the name the white man gave us.

It means, cutthroat.

We call white menwasíchu,

which means, "never get rid of them."

But I'm not sure we should try to get rid of all white men.

You are not going to.

I will come back to see you again.

No, you must not. I did not mean it that way.

We can not ever be together.

But why not?

My father has already accepted many gifts from White Eagle.

It means I am promised to him.

Cohantas.

Wear this for me...

and think of me sometimes, devushka.

[ dogs barking ]

Where have you been?

We went to get firewood.

That is all.

I do not see any wood.

And we were talking.

Forgot to get any.

I will not forget so easily.

You have no cause to be angry with Cohantas.

I am not angry at her.

My hatred burns for you.

No, White Eagle.

He does not understand your customs

or your ways of handling such disputes.

Spotted Tail, this could cause great trouble

for both your people as well as mine.

You cannot allow the duel of the single lance.

White man has his laws.

We have ours.

They will meet before the sun sets.

♪ [ Lakota singing ]

I won't let you fight a death duel over that squaw.

You must not speak of her like that.

You know, Bill,

Cohantas is the only girl who has ever liked me for myself.

Not because I am a member of the royal family.

And she's so lovely.

All right, so she's a pretty squaw.

Can't you just imagine her at one of your royal shindigs

up there in Saint Petersburg or Moscow?

Oh, I know it could never be.

Not even should I kill White Eagle.

You kill him? You've never seen one of these Sioux death duels.

You've explained it to me enough times.

You ride, dismount, grab the lance,

and let the best man win.

You wouldn't stand a chance, Alex.

Even if I had the opportunity to escape,

I could never take it.

The sons of Peter the Great have never been cowards.

Well, it may not be your death alone.

This may turn into a massacre.

Look, I may not stand any more of a chance than you would with White Eagle,

but you better let me take your place.

Never.

White Eagle waits!

It's time to begin.

Let me pass.

Look, we can tell him you're sick or something.

You don't look too well.

Nonsense, I've never felt better in my life.

I'll fix that.[ groans ]

Why does he not come out?

Well, my blood brother is sick.

Humph.

I'll fight in his place.

I have no cause to fight you.

I can fix that.

Hyah! Hyah!

Hyah!

[ horse neighing ]

[ pants ]

[ grunts ]

[ panting ]

[ gasping ]

ALEXIS: Don't do it, Bill.

White Eagle is not my enemy.

Nor are any of his people.

All we want is peace.

And the right to leave here in friendship.

Mighty killer of buffalo and his blood brother

may leave our village.

It will be a wonderful souvenir, Bill.

Better get going.

I am so glad you are here.

His Royal Highness has disappeared.

Disappeared, since when?

Since the moment after your departure.

You mean Cody can't find him?

Cody is with him. There's no trace of either one of them.

If word of this gets to the Czar, I shall be banished to Siberia.

[ cheering ]I just can't understand--

Whoo-hoo!

General Kuragin!

[ horse snorting ]

Your Highness, are you all right?

[ speaking Russian ]

Ah. Where the devil have you two been?

We have been having the best time since I am in America.

And here's the proof. Take it and guard it with your life.

And since I have a souvenir of my trip,

you will have one also.

Now, wait a minute, Alex. That looks like a ruby.

I couldn't accept that.

What? It would be an insult to place

a smaller value on saving my life.

I wish every European who comes to your country

could have you for a guide and protector.

Guess the party is over, Alex.

Yes, Bill. Too bad.

If I'm ever out your way, I'll look in on ya.

Bill...

[ speaks Russian ]

Of course, Buffalo Bill could not act as a guide

to every European who came to visit the West.

But he did the next best thing.

For 15 years later, he took the West to Europe...

with the celebrated, "Buffalo Bill's Wild West" show.