Original subtitles

Hey! Leave it.

Leave it. Leave it.

Who's there?

Cookie!

I want some of that buffalo steak for breakfast...

..the fried cakes.

Finished all that back at Colter's Hell.

How about that soda bread?

There's none of that left either, I'm afraid.

You find anything out there tonight?

Uh...mushrooms...

digger squirrel.

I had the squirrel, but it got away.

Well, what's in the larder?

10 dry biscuits, some jerky, salt.

Nothing else?

No.

It's the Cookie's job to improvise.

This is a land of abundance, Mr Figowitz...

and you are charged with finding our vittles

until we reach Fort Tilikum.

- Hold up there, mister. - You understand that, I'm sure.

Share the wealth!

He's drinking more than his share!

Ah, damn it! That's wasting it.

- Hey!

Sons of bitches!

Hello?

You all right?

Hungry.

Your cook has...retired for the night?

I don't think so.

You could call him here, for a moment?

I'm the cook.

I see.

I've been walking for a long time.

I might stay here awhile.

Wait.

You speak good English...

..for an Indian.

Uh, I'm not Indian.

I'm Chinese.

I didn't know there were Chinese in these parts.

Everyone's here. We all want that soft gold.

That's why you're here, isn't it?

We've trapped our share.

What's your name?

King-Lu.

That's what they call me.

- You? - Otis Figowitz.

- They call me Cookie. - Good to meet you.

There are, uh, some men chasing me...

Russians.

Have you seen them?

Why are men chasing you?

I...might have killed one of their friends.

Chenamus...my friend.

They...called him a thief

and they gutted him from neck to loin.

I had a pistol.

I took a shot. I got one in the neck.

Then...they came after me,

and I ran.

What happened to your clothes?

I stuffed them into hollow trees,

threw my gun in a creek...

and, uh...

Come on.

You can sleep here.

little mongrel son of a whore.

When we find the whoreson,

he'll wish he never set foot in this shit forest.

Okay, so, what I'm hearing is about two days...

After falls, after falls.

Midday? No.

- What's that? - After midday...

whenever you get there.

Move out! We got directions.

North and west to Fort Tillikum.

About two days' journey.

Hit the river, head downstream...

- ..downriver at every branch.

- Oh...

..and there's a murderer in the woods, so stay close.

The Russians said the elk are gone this time of year.

And what else that Russian say?

Said the company's paying three silver ingots

for every beaver pelt, two copper for every muskrat.

And there's beer at the fort.

And other things.

- And women? - More than one.

Keep on down the river from here, one more day.

Hungry as hell.

Cookie, find me some food.

Eat your damn hand. We'll be there tomorrow.

I want food tonight,

or I'm taking it out on this one.

I'm sick of looking at this one.

Can't wait to be done with him.

Can't wait to never see him again.

When you get your cut at the fort...

..I'll be waiting for you outside the gates...

..waiting for you with your sack full of silver.

- Leave him alone! - No. No!

Fancy boots, lad.

Fancy boots.

He said she'd meet me.

We ship out next month. Can be there in six months.

How many twists do you want for this?

This?

It's a deal.

Oysters!

Clams! Oysters! Clams!

Five twists, six twists, half off.

Those look like Jean-Baptiste's boots!

I think we need a ship.

I like how it looks. That's all.

- You like a flare. - I believe.

Five twists, six twists, half off.

Six twists, half off.

- Six twists, six twists.

Flowers... the flowers are different shaped.

Maybe it was bodies.

I'm telling you, it was up somewhere on Snake River.

No food, no gun, no nothing.

Your body knows more than you do.

That's true. Your body knows more than your brain.

Then they start hitting each other in the head.

I'm getting to that.

Then, they start hitting each other with...

Blew up the whole ship?

We got two on the ship.

It was on the Ruby. Lived as a slave up there

for three years before he got free.

How was it, for him, being a slave?

He didn't like it.

Uh, whiskey, please.

- How much? - Two.

You know what it's like in there. No way of knowing.

That's what I saw.

I'm telling you, it's the first one, first cow in the Territory.

Shipped it all the way up from Saint Francisco.

Saint Luis Obispo.

I heard Saint Francisco.

I spoke to the ferryman,

and he was the one bringing the cow.

You need to ask the Chief Factor about that.

Chief Factor ordered two cows and a calf.

That's a true story.

But the other ones died on the way.

What good's one cow to anyone?

Cow needs a stud.

Chief Factor wants...

.. milk in his tea.

Like a proper English gentleman!

Like a proper lady.

This ain't a place for cows.

God would have put cows here if it was.

Ah, it's no place for white men either, then, eh?

Well, look who's here.

Brilliant William!

I need a few sunbeams, William.

Can you gather me up a dozen sunbeams?

They're on the ground just laying around everywhere.

- Any old beams will do. - I'll have a beer.

Here's a question.

What does a tongue taste like?

Do you ever think about that?

I bet you have some distinct opinions

about what your tongue tastes like.

Am I right, William?

Traders, all sonsabitches.

Whatcha saying there, Brilliant William?

Something brilliant, I'm bettin'.

He's always good for some clever opinions.

What's the difference between a river and a lake?

You figure that one out yet? Willy?

I'm not bothering him.

I'm just asking him an honest question.

What about the chicken and the egg?

He knew for sure it was a chicken

till he thought about it from the egg's point of view.

That one really hurt your old noggin.

- Didn't it, William?

Yep. Yep. I think that's how you got

this crack in your brain bone.

Willy! Better do something, or your head's going to blow.

You.

Watch him till I'm done.

Make some proper money, eh?

Coo, coo.

Coo, coo, CoO.

Coo.

- Coo, coo, coo.

- Hello, Cookie!

Thought I might find you here, sooner or later.

I never thought I'd ever see you again.

I was lucky.

Those, uh... Russian villains,

they left the country just after I left you.

Well, here I am,

free and easy, right back where I was.

Uh, where are all your kind friends?

Oh, they mostly went south...

some north.

- But not you. - Not yet.

No-one would have me.

And, uh, where are you staying in the meantime?

I got a tent a mile that way.

Uh, other side of the hill.

I've got a place a mile thataway.

Mm, I've got a bottle there, too.

Mm-hm.

Maybe you'd, uh, like to come help me drink it?

Uh, of course, I would, but...

Oh. Well, leave him.

He's fine.

He's fine!

Well...

You wait here.

Allright?

Your daddy will be back soon.

- Damn it, James! - Who would've put it there?

I've been in these parts close to two years now.

I've thought about leaving more than once, but I sense opportunity here.

Ships coming in and out every week.

More raw materials than anywhere I've seen,

and I've been all over!

You've been everywhere.

I caught my first trade ship to Canton when I was nine.

From there, I sailed to London,

Africa, saw the pyramids.

This is a land of riches, I tell you.

I see something in this land I haven't seen before.

Pretty much everywhere has been touched by now.

But this is still new.

More nameless things around here than you can shake an eel at.

Doesn't seem new to me. Seems old.

Mm.

Everything is old, if you look at it that way.

History isn't here yet.

It's coming, but... we got here early this time.

Maybe, this time, we can be ready for it.

We can... take it on our own terms.

It's not much to look at, I know.

Here's to...

something.

You make yourself easy. I'll get a fire going.

Looks better already.

Relax. Sit. Sit.

Where are you from, Cookie?

Maryland.

- Hm, never been. - Hm.

It's fine.

I don't remember it much.

Not fine enough to stay, huh?

My mother died when I was born, and then my father died.

I had to move on to find work.

Well...

I never stopped moving.

I had an idea once.

Furs are one thing, but there's a precious oil in the beavers, too.

That's worth something in China. They use it for medicine over there.

If a man could take a batch of that precious beaver oil

on a ship to Canton...

he could make his fortune.

Why don't you?

Eh, oil is in the glands.

Glands never make it back to the fort,

just rot away in the woods.

Anyway, I don't have contacts in Canton.

I'm from the North. They hate a northern man there.

Worse than a white man to them.

What I'd really like is a farm.

The land south of here is wide open.

The world wants filberts.

Or walnuts.

Or almonds.

Something you can pack up and send.

But you can't just grow a tree.

It takes time.

It's the getting started that's the puzzle.

No way for a poor man to start.

You need capital.

Or you need some kind of miracle.

You need leverage.

Or a crime.

I'd like to open a hotel someday.

A place for travellers.

Or a bakery.

That's nice.

A hotel and a bakery...

..with wild huckleberry pies.

You could do that here.

Some place warmer.

It has holes in it,

and it looks like the face of a man.

It's just one black rock.

That's a weather stone.

It makes rain, they say.

They say it was a powerful spirit once...

and got turned into stone.

If anyone sits on it, it rains.

You really believe in that?

Uh... eh.

I believe different things in different places.

Saw a cow today.

Hm.

It wasn't far from Chief Factor's house.

In a meadow.

Hm.

I'd like some of that milk.

Hm. I'm not a milk drinker. It doesn't agree with me.

I wouldn't drink it.

I'd use it...for...

..cookies...

..Or scones.

Nothing better than buttermilk biscuits.

I'm tired of this...

.. flour-and-water bread.

What else do you need to make good biscuits, Cookie?

Oh, flour, some sugar...

salt...

..baking soda.

How long does it take to milk a cow?

Not long.

Make much noise?

- No. - Can cows give milk at night?

As long as she wasn't milked after dinner.

I'll go up and keep an eye on things from here.

Give me a lift.

If I see anything, I'll, uh, give a call.

- All right. - I'll do an owl.

I don't think you can get up there.

Hello.

How are you?

Didn't expect company this late at night, did you?

Well, here we are.

Sorry about your husband.

I heard he didn't make it all the way.

And your calf...

... it's a terrible thing.

Terrible.

But you got a nice place here.

You do. You got a real nice little place here, don't you?

How much do you think someone would pay for a biscuit like that?

I wish we had some honey.

A glass of whiskey is two silver coins.

A pickle is three.

Men work out in the fort,

loaded with silver and shells and company script.

I once saw a man spend five good beaver pelts

on a broken fork.

I think we should test the waters.

Next batch, Cookie, we'll take to market.

I've heard of fortunes made on less.

Seems dangerous.

So is anything worth doing.

I think they'd like something sweeter.

Five twists, six twists, half off.

Six twists, half off. Six twists, six twists.

Fresh oily cakes.

Best this side of the Sandwich Islands.

Don't look like hardtack. Or soda bread.

Look like some kind of pancake.

It smells good. What's in it?

Secret ingredient. Ancient Chinese secret.

How much?

- Uh, five ingots or the equal in trade. - Mm.

Good lord! Give me another.

- That's livin', all right. - Mm.

I'll give you six ingots for that last one. Uh-uh. Mm-mm.

- Seven shells. - Come on.

Seven shells, one ingot.

- Eight. Hold on. - What?

Oily cake to this gentleman.

We'll have more tomorrow!

Made some oily cakes with your milk.

They were very good.

Couldn't sell 'em fast enough.

Alittle honey on 'em.

But it was your milk in the batter that did it.

Yeah. Yeah.

What a good, sweet girl you are.

Hold my place. I'll be right back.

Hold my place. I'll be right back.

- No cuts allowed. - I was here.

He was saving my spot.

One is the limit. I heard it from the Chinaman himself.

One is the limit. I heard it from the Chinaman himself.

First come, first served, friends.

You oughta make more next time.

Only so many we can make in a day, friend.

They want to keep them prices up. They're not dumb.

Damn it. What's in these things? Tastes like something my mama made.

Damn it. What's in these things? Tastes like something my mama made.

That's our secret, boys.

Think of it as a little taste of home.

We'll have more tomorrow!

Could buy an acre in California for that.

It's a start, all right.

It won't last much longer, though.

It won't last much longer, though.

They'll get tired of it.

And there will be more milk cows here soon.

We got a window here, Cookie.

This is too much to keep in the house.

This is too much to keep in the house.

We need a bank.

What about the cottonwood tree? There's a good hole in that.

Hmm.

Which side of the tree has the most branches?

Which side of the tree has the most branches?

- Huh? - The outside.

Hey.

Hold one out today.

Chief Factor wants one.

Chief Factor wants one.

He'll be here soon.

D'you not have work to do?

Don't need two shadows, do I?

Get busy!

Get busy!

Look alive, son.

I'm saving mine for later.

I'm saving mine for later.

No-one's giving him 50 shells. Ain't worth 50 shells.

I've heard about your cakes.

I'd like to try one if I may. How much?

I'd like to try one if I may. How much?

For you, only 10 silver pieces.

A little cinnamon is nice.

I taste London in this cake.

A bakery I once knew in...

South Kensington.

Astonishing.

Where did you learn to do that?

I was indentured to a baker in Boston, sir.

He taught me the trade.

He was a good baker!

Indeed, he was.

What was his name?

Barnaby Rose.

Never heard of him.

But I commend you, sir,

on these delicious baked comestibles.

I hope you won't be leaving too soon.

I hope you won't be leaving too soon.

We have no plans.

Very, very good.

A hotel in San Francisco is harder.

More competition.

Eh, but more opportunity, too.

Eh, but more opportunity, too.

More people coming through.

It's a good idea.

We'll have enough to go there soon.

We have enough to go now.

We have enough to go now.

Enough to go. Not enough to start.

Psst.

Psst!

Another cup is another dozen cakes.

That's another 60 silver pieces at least.

Hello.

Good evening.

Back again.

I'm entertaining, uh, a small group next week.

The captain of the Ruby is coming for tea.

I'm tired of all his jests about the savagery of life on the frontier.

I'm tired of all his jests about the savagery of life on the frontier.

Tell me.

Do you know what a clafoutis is?

- ldo. - Ah.

Could you make one? A good one?

He loves a clafoutis, and,

He loves a clafoutis, and,

well, I...

I'd like to humiliate him.

Well, without fresh raspberries or apricots, I'm not sure.

Have you tried bilberry?

It's out of season, I believe.

We have plenty of blueberries on the bush.

I... I would pay you handsomely

for a proper blueberry clafoutis.

It's a simple enough recipe.

If blueberry is available, I'm sure I can make one.

Capital.

Saturday, then.

A clafoutis.

We'll be dining at my residence. You know its whereabouts?

We'll be dining at my residence. You know its whereabouts?

Uh...

I think I've passed by it or I know of it.

Tea time!

The hotels in San Francisco are grand.

We can't compete on that scale.

But regular travellers need shelter, too.

A room with a bed, that's all.

A room with a bed, that's all.

A few rooms near the sea.

This is a dangerous game we're playing here.

The Chief Factor has a delicate palate.

The Chief Factor has a delicate palate.

He'll taste his milk in there eventually.

I can't say no.

He'd be suspicious.

He'd be suspicious.

Where does he think the milk is coming from?

Some people can't imagine being stolen from.

Too strong.

Let's hope he's one of those.

How much will we charge?

20?

25.

That sounds like quite a situation indeed.

And in the end, how many lashes did you order?

20.

Mm. A fine number. But for mutiny?

It was a memorable day for that man.

It seems conservative.

More than 20 and he would have been useless

for the remainder of the voyage.

- And he was a young hand? - Mm, not so young.

Ah.

Here is the rub, you see.

When one factors the loss of labour from the punished hand

versus the gain of labour

from those hands who witness the punishment,

a stricter punishment can be the more advisable path.

Even a properly rendered death

can be useful in the ultimate accounting.

It is a highly motivating spectacle for the indolent,

let alone the mutinous.

Yes, fair enough, but...

..some calculations can never truly be made.

Now, there you are wrong, Captain.

Any question that cannot be calculated is not worth the asking.

Ah. Here is our baker. Uh,

bring the clafoutis in here, Cookie.

Show the captain.

Indeed, it is a fine-looking cake, Mister...

Figowitz.

And what brought you to the Oregon Territory, Mr Figowitz?

Oh, chance.

I hired on with a trapping company.

- Ah, Ashley's men. - No, a lesser crew.

They're trapping out the whole map. There won't be any pelts here much longer.

I disagree. The beaver here are endless.

Smart animals, the beaver.

When I got here, the beaver were everywhere.

Whole cities of beaver,

living like people in row houses in New York.

Well, in any case, the fashions are changing in Paris.

The beaver hat is on the wane.

The Chinese market remains strong.

Beaver will always find a home. It is too beautiful, too supple.

- Hm. Mm. - Ah.

Wh-what he's saying is that the men in Paris

favour new hats this season.

They no longer want beaver fur.

But I'm saying to him

that the beaver here will last forever.

He's saying he doesn't understand

why the white men hunt so much beaver and never eat the tail.

- The tail is delicious. - Huh.

Well, maybe I will.

I'm sick to death of salmon already.

You can tell him that.

Ah, here we are.

Chinese black tea.

Very subtle.

Uh, cream?

Enjoy the cream, Captain.

My cow gives so little. She's a lonely girl, I fear.

You have a cow?

Yes. She's only been here for a month or so, sans husband, I'm afraid.

I'm hoping to find her a mate within the year.

Would you like to see her?

Let's take a walk.

Shall we?

Tell me, Captain...

.. what are the fashions in Paris this year?

Hm.

The ladies are moving away from the Empire silhouette this year.

They're favouring fuller skirts and, uh, visible corseting.

For the men, broad shoulders and puffed sleeves,

trousers for smart day wear,

breeches in court and in the country.

As for colours, canary yellow and turkey red are the colours du jour.

History moves so quickly in Paris.

So quickly, it wears itself out.

It never reaches here at all.

She seems well enough.

Yes.

And yet she barely produces a thing.

What's her provenance?

Oh, she's of a good line,

half Alderney of Isigny and half Froment du Leon

from the province of Brittany.

She's a very fine cow.

Froment du Leon from the province of Brittany.

The cow's got better breeding than I do.

A royal cow.

Maybe we should halt for a while.

I think the Captain sensed something.

Hm. Now is our time.

Another cow is on the way. And more cows after that.

The Chief Factor is...

.. is a fool.

He misses everything right under his nose.

Paris this, London that.

What kind of woman is he?

Men like us, Cookie, we have to make our own way.

There are no Empire silhouettes or colours du jour for us.

We have to take what we can when the taking is good.

I know.

We'll sell a little longer and then we'll make our way south.

We haven't even begun, Cookie.

Psst, psst, psst, psst, psst!

Come on back.

Come on back, you stupid cat!

Inside, before you get me in trouble.

Are you all right?

- Can you move? - Yeah. Yeah.

We gotta go!

Something... Someone in the meadow!

- What? - Attackers all around!

- Who? - I woke the house! Get dressed.

Hurry!

God's sake, Thomas!

You there!

It would appear that someone's been milking your cow.

Figowitz.

The Chinaman.

Figowitz!

No, no. Not home.

Which way?

The deer's path goes up back up over there, but...

- the river path is... - Stealing my milk.

I'll kill him!

Shh! Do you hear that?

What's that? What's that?

There's one! Crossing the river, sir!

We'll overtake him on foot!

Use the path downriver!

Lloyd, you hurry on, and we'll, we'll follow!

Yes, sir!

Lehayim.

Lehayim.

I-Is this your canoe? I need to go downriver.

[He speaks Chinook Jargon, haltingly]

[King-Lu speaks Chinook Jargon]

Dindindin.

- Dingalingaling? - Mm.

I... need to find my friend.

He doesn't know where I am.

Not even northwest.

- Over here? Huh? - He's probably got a moustache.

Aye, Johnny Hart. Ha!

He hauls timber like a bandit, that one.

Heart? Heart like a red, beating heart?

No, like, eh...

Hart like a deer. Aye.

Jon Hart.

- A cheater by any spelling!

I've skunked him every game, regardless.

He's no' a worthy opponent.

He prefers to discard just one card to the crib.

- One card?! - Aye.

Abysmal.

It's an archaic rule...

and he prefers the old ways.

Aye.

A gey poor adversary in Sir John Suckling's noble game.

Cribbage players are in short supply in this hemisphere.

Aye. I suffer for it daily.

Thought you were gone.

I thought you were gone.

You're hurt?

Uh...

It's not good here, Cookie.

It's not safe.

We have to go.

Get away from here.

We'll tell our stories later.

That's quite a scratch on your head.

We'll clean it when we rest.

How about that?

There's a port at the mouth of the river.

We'll go downstream and catch the first clipper south. How about that?

Why is a baker like a beggar?

Why?

They both need bread.

You'll make it.

You just need to stay on your feet.

This is, uh, a good place to rest.

No-one can see us here.

You lie there. On the needles.

I'll keep first watch.

We'll go soon.

I've got you.