Original subtitles

That's all there is?

You're lookin' at it.

I've been up and down this creek bed

in both directions. That's all there is.

Well, I told you, Adams.

I smelled that dust 40 miles back.

I knew there wasn't no water here.

Ben, there's no sense being happy about it.

I reckon you young 'uns is gonna get a taste of how we done it

long before they ever mapped out

all these water holes for you, nice and pretty.

What do you mean, Mr. Burns?

MAJOR: He means a dry March, that's what.

A pint a day for each person

till we hit the next water hole.

Then all you gotta worry about

is whether the sand buries you before the wolves get you.

You're dang fools.

Let's go back, Flint.

That's it, Major.

Well, we might as well face it.

From now till the time that we get to the next water hole,

which is about 60 miles,

we're gonna ration the water.

One pint a day per person.

Two pints per head of stock.

How come we get half as much as the animals?

FLINT: Well, I'll tell you, Mr. Owen.

If you'll pull a wagon for us,

we'll make sure that your ration's doubled. Won't we, Major?

You bet.

Mr. Adams, you're supposed to know this country.

Is this the way you treat your people?

Owen, in this kind of country,

this train travels from one water hole to the next.

I've been through here a lot of times.

I've never made it once that we didn't hit at least one dry hole.

Just our tough luck this time

we happened to hit two in a row.

Not much of an answer.

Can you think of a better one?

All right. Charlie, Bill...

get the water back to the train.

Put those barrels on my wagon.

That's my wagon, Mr. Owen. Understand that?

All right, get back to the train, everybody!

You sure there's nothin' between here and Frenchman's Crick?

Not that I could tell.

It's gonna be a long, hot summer.

Yeah, it sure is.

Well, let's go.

What I'd give for a cup of coffee.

Or a glass of cool Illinois spring water.

My mouth feels like it's full of glue.

You young 'uns don't know

what it means to have it tough.

You know, Mr. Burns...

Chicago isn't exactly the ideal training ground for this sort of thing.

Boy, 30 years ago,

Bill Sublette and me lived for a whole month

right here in this desert on nothin' but cactus buds.

No water, no nothin'.

If it weren't for this bunch of tourists holdin' us back,

I'd have you across in a couple of days...

with plenty of water to boot.

You're traveling with a train this time.

Ah! Might just as well be travelin'

in one of them plushy red parlors

you youngsters like so much.

I really don't mind the hardships.

When we get to California,

and Kathy and I get married,

all this will seem like a pretty small price to pay.

Hardships? All of what?

When I was your age, a man wouldn't be found dead

in one of these travelin' bedrooms.

Wagons was for women.

And sick women, at that.

Grandfather, what did you say about water a minute ago?

Kathy, I said we'd have plenty of water soon.

To my way of thinkin',

we don't need any more than we got right now anyway.

But I guess all of you start thinkin'

that if you don't get a bath pretty soon,

you'll start sickening up.

Oh, McCullough boy!

What's on your mind, Ben?

You're supposed to be a scout, ain't you?

Well, you ought to know.

You ain't proved it to me yet.

I'm afraid you're gettin' soft like the rest of 'em.

If Old Man Sublette ever knew

that you let these barrels run dry,

he'd have bull-whipped you.

Tell me, how far is it to Frenchman's?

Too far on the water we got left.

What's that supposed to mean?

FLINT: Well, maybe we're in for trouble.

But maybe it'll rain, and maybe we'll make better time. Maybe.

Maybe. You got all the maybes but the right one.

And which one is that?

Shining Water.

KATHY: Shining Water?

A creek the Indians talk about in the Furnaces. It's a legend.

BEN: A legend! Why, it's the sweetest, coolest legend

I ever drunk out of.

I've been all through the Furnaces, and I haven't seen it yet.

You ain't looked in the right place.

You think you could find it?

Think? Why, boy, I know I could find it.

Major!

What's up?

Ben here says he can find the Shining Water.

Well, I wish I could believe that.

Well, Major, I can't just walk you to it.

It's been over 30 years.

But it was up in the Furnaces I found it.

Old Bill Sublette and me...

We was chasin' a bear.

He had stolen a hindquarter of that buck meat

out of our camp.

That's when I found it.

If he knows what he's talkin' about,

shouldn't we hightail it up there?

Flint, how long would it take you to get there and back?

Three days. Four, if we make allowances for a search.

Ben... Major...

I've been through the Furnaces several times.

I don't think there's any water there.

You'd be wasting your time.

Ben, you really think you can find it, huh?

If I get within just a few miles of them Furnaces,

don't you worry. I'll smell the water.

Well, we might get about a half a dozen volunteers

and all the containers you could loan on a pack mule.

Ben, if you'll guide 'em,

Bill and Flint will go with you and do everything else.

It's a gamble at best, Flint, so we won't wait for you.

We'll meet you at Black Mesa.

Bill, get a pack mule.

I hope you know what you're doin', Ben.

If you don't, I don't think this wagon train

will ever get to Frenchman's Springs.

And we might not make Black Mesa.

Are you sure, Grandfather?

This isn't just another one of your wild stories?

Now, child, ain't you ashamed of yourself?

You know your grandfather never told no wild stories.

If Mr. Burns says there's water there, it's there.

I take his word for it.

By golly, he's a good boy!

Even though he's a dude, I like him.

I think he'd make a fine husband for you.

You goin' with us in the morning?

Couldn't keep me away. Good.

Make a man of you! Ha ha ha!

By golly, I think I'll have a drink on it.

Grandfather, you've already had your water.

Water? Who's talkin' about water?

What a man. He's getting old.

Sometimes he exaggerates things.

He's got a right to, hasn't he, after the life he's led?

You know, Kathy, your grandfather's living history.

But he's still an old man.

He could hurt himself.

No, no. He'll still be around

when our children make him a great-grandfather.

He'd have been one already if your family weren't so stubborn.

Well, you know Mama.

She's gotta see her daughter's wedding.

Now, John...

the Furnace mountains aren't Chicago.

You take care of yourself.

Now, look, you stop worrying.

It's gonna take more than the Furnace Mountains

to keep me from coming back to you.

Oh.

Bill, I knew this old thing would come in handy sometime.

Got it from a sheepherder up in Wyoming years ago.

You finally found something that smells worse than you.

Wait a minute. I don't care how bad it smells.

It'll hold more water than them jugs of yours.

Yeah? I'll use it on one condition. What?

That you use your water out of it

from here till we get to California.

I'm only tryin' to help. You're tryin' to be cute.

You take that.

You know how badly we need water, boys.

If old Ben here is right, you can make it in four days,

but you better make it with water,

'cause we only got four days' supply left.

We'll do our best, Major.

Don't you get your bile up, sonny.

I'll get you there, don't worry.

You better, old man.

I don't think you know what you're talkin' about anyway.

Shining Water. Sounds like a patent medicine.

BEN: Hey, young fella.

I'll bet that big mouth of yours

will be the first one dippin' into that water

when I lead you to it.

If we're goin', let's go.

I want you to know, Major,

I'm holding you personally responsible.

If we don't find water,

I'll see that you never lead another wagon train.

If you don't find water, Mr. Owen,

you don't have to worry about it anymore,

'cause the desert will take care of all of us.

Used to be an outcropping up there on that peak.

Ain't there now.

I don't remember any outcropping, Ben.

Yeah. A bunch of white stones.

What'd you think, I dreamed it up or something?

No, that's 30 years ago, Ben.

I ain't never forgot a landmark in my life.

Could've been an earthquake.

A lot can happen in 30 years.

What direction from the outcropping was the spring?

Well, I ain't exactly sure.

You old fool, you'd better be sure.

Save your strength, Owen.

Let him talk. As soon as he gets me mad enough,

I'll jam the barrel of this rifle down his throat.

Ha ha! I'm kind of lookin' forward to that, too.

Owen, you lay off Mr. Burns.

Or what?

Or you'll answer to me.

You've been out in the sun too long, sonny.

Ben, you said it was in a valley?

Yeah, way up high there.

And from the sides, you can't see no trees or anything.

But they're there.

Ain't no stream, either. Just a little spring

that fills a pool and goes no place.

All right, we'll give it a try, Ben.

Let's split up.

You see that mass of rocks up there on the hill?

We'll use that as a checkpoint.

Anybody finds a stream or a spring,

we'll fire a couple of shots.

If we can't find it, we'll meet there

when the sun's at the top of that peak.

You're not too used to this country.

You'd better take the mule and stay down here.

All right? Let's separate.

Where you goin', Johnny boy?

Can't even trust mountains no more.

I guess everything's goin' to ruin.

Blame you, horse... Why don't you smell it?

If I had my own mule,

we'd have been belly-deep in water by now.

Come on, horse! Breathe!

You find anything?

No, not a sign.

Here.

I thought we ran out of water yesterday.

That's strictly for emergencies.

Take it easy! That's gotta last!

Flint...

maybe there's no such place as Shining Water.

Maybe.

But if old Ben would come this far lookin' for it,

I figure he must've seen it once.

It's time we were gettin' back.

Yeah, could be.

I reckon I'd better take a look.

These dang hills didn't used to be this steep.

Yeah.

I didn't find a thing, Flint.

How'd you make out? Not a sign.

Aaaah!

That was Mr. Burns!

All right, fan out!

If you find him, use the same signal.

Hyah!

Ohh.

What do you think, Flint?

I'd give him a couple of hours.

It's a miracle he's not dead

from that fall already.

What are we gonna do, Flint?

Well, we can't move him.

He's gonna die anyway. That's what you said.

Yeah, that's what I said, but I'm no doctor.

OWEN: What's the difference?

I feel sorry for the old man.

But it's pretty obvious we can't move him,

and it's pretty obvious we can't stay here.

What would you do, Mr. Owen?

Ride away and leave him here?

What do you think?

We're gonna stay here without any water?

Or food?

We'll all die.

Look, you can't just leave him here.

Bill, you think you can find your way back to the train?

Yeah.

Go on back and take everybody with you.

I'll stay here with Ben.

OWEN: You don't have to stay.

Look at him. He won't last long.

Everybody has to die sometime, Owen.

But they don't have to die alone.

Flint, I'll stay with you.

That isn't necessary, John.

No, I want to stay.

He means a lot to me.

Besides, a man like him...

He just can't lay down and die.

He's more important than that.

All right.

Bill, before you go, give me a hand.

We'll build some sort of a lean-to,

get him out of the sun.

That's not very sturdy.

Bill, wait.

Tell the Major we'll catch up

just as soon as we can.

You got any water? No.

Give me your canteen.

You had that all along?

That's right.

And we're so thirsty we can't even talk?

You've been doin' a pretty good job.

Ah.

What are you gonna do with the rest of it?

Look, Owen...

there's a man over there, there's two of us,

and we don't know how long we're gonna be here.

You're not gonna waste water on him.

You better get movin' before I break his neck.

You keep your mouth shut.

Tell the Major to keep the train goin'.

We'll catch him. All right.

You won't get too far without water, Flint.

On your way back, keep your eyes open

for Ben's spring.

Hmm.

And you'd better take his horse along.

All right. Good luck to you.

All right, let's go.

Well, they're gone.

How long do you think he'll hang on?

Well, he's a tough old man.

Then how long can we stay here with him...

without water?

No one asked you to stay, Mr. Colter.

No one said it was gonna be easy.

I told you how I feel about Mr. Burns.

It's just that...

Look, Flint, I'm from Chicago.

I know my way around in the city.

But out here is something else again.

Yes, I understand that.

John, it'd be easier on all of us if we had some more water.

Yeah, it would on me.

You stay here and keep your eyes on Ben.

He said this spring just sort of came up out of the rocks,

so I'll have a good look around.

Flint, wait a minute, wait a minute.

What if something happens?

Then we'll go back to the wagon train.

Oh.

And you might get the horses and get 'em out of sight.

Why?

This is Shoshone country.

I wouldn't want a hunting party to spot 'em.

And pull my rifle for me. You might need.

Where are the horses?

They're back up the canyon. Why?

Indians. They're headed this way,

but they haven't seen us. Come on.

They're coming this way.

Take it easy, John.

We're all right. They don't know we're here.

Uhh!

Don't move.

I can't stand snakes.

John, the Indians will hear it.

It's coming.

It's coming at me.

Colter, don't.

We at least have a chance against the snake.

I'm sorry.

You got any sores in your mouth?

No.

Let's get the poison out of this.

Ow!

Come on.

Is there anything I can do to help?

Some water.

BEN: Water. Uhh...

Give him some.

Look, Flint, we got...

Give him some!

FLINT: John.

You'd better loosen this tourniquet.

Yeah.

We gotta get you back to the train.

I can't.

Look, you've got to have treatment.

You can ride.

Ben... Ben can't.

Flint, nothing can help him now!

Nothing!

You said so yourself. He's dying.

We have to stay here and die with him...

just to keep him company, Flint?

Flint? Flint, do...

Flint?

It isn't fair.

He's lived his life.

Why do we have to stay here and die with him?

Why?

Why?! Why?! Why?!

Oh, wait a minute, Flint.

Wait a minute. I'll get this off.

You'll be more comfortable.

There. There, you're better now.

Shining Water.

Shining...

No, Flint.

Flint, Flint.

I'll find water.

You lie down. I'll find it.

I'll find it, Flint.

Hurry up, old man.

Will you die?

Water.

There isn't any water.

There... There isn't any.

I got lost out there.

I couldn't find my way back.

I was gonna die out there.

Flint.

Flint, please.

Please, let's try and get back.

Flint, please, let's try and get back.

Let's try.

Why don't you die, old man?

Why don't you give up and die?

That's enough, that's enough.

Take it easy on that water, fella.

Come on, easy.

Is it true? About Grandfather?

I'm afraid so, ma'am.

Is he dead?

He wasn't when I left,

but he's in real bad shape.

And John?

He stayed out with Flint and your granddad.

Honey, if your man is out there with McCullough,

he'll be back, all right. Don't you worry.

He will, won't he?

You bet your boots he will.

I hope.

Water.

Where's my horse?

Where's my horse? Give it to...

Flint?

Flint, he's dead.

The old man... He finally died, Flint.

He's dead, Flint. He's dead.

I had a dream.

I dreamed I was...

Bad dream.

No, Flint. We can go back now.

Come on, let's get back to the train.

Come on, we can go back.

We can go back to the train. Come on.

Come on, come on.

I'm sorry.

Flint?

Flint?

There was plenty of water there, huh?

Just like he said.

Come out of a rock in the middle of nowhere.

All you could... All you could use.

Are you sure you can find your way back there?

Yeah, I think so.

He ain't goin' no place with a leg like this.

It'd flat mortify. Look at it.

Pretty stupid of you, wasn't it?

Lettin' a rattler sneak up on you like that.

I won't argue about that.

Ow! Charlie...

Well, I'm glad you got back, kid.

Pour it on him, Charlie.

I'll take care of him.

I know it's not much consolation, Kathy...

but I don't think he suffered.

Not from the moment he fell.

I know you did all you could.

It was brave of you.

Kathy, don't say that.

Johnny Colter, I want to tell you something.

There isn't a man on this train

doesn't appreciate what you did.

Major...

I know you're tired and need your rest.

I'll let you go in a minute.

Ordinarily, Flint would handle this himself.

But he's not in very good shape right now. I know.

I'm sending another party back to Shining Water.

I'm not quite that Flint knows the way.

He's still pretty hazy.

Do you think you could give Bill Hawks

good enough directions for him to find the place?

Major, more than that... I'll take them.

A man could walk it in a couple of days.

John, you can't!

Won't be necessary. You've done your share.

Listen, Major... it's important!

Besides Flint,

I'm the only one who knows where the place is.

And, well, I don't think I could show them.

I'd have to take them.

It seems to me that what you need more

is about a week's sleep and a belly full of good grub.

Major!

I've got to go. I've got to take them.

All right, son. Don't get excited about it.

You get a nice sleep and some food.

You can take out in the morning as soon as it's light.

Good night, Kathy.

Good night, Major.

Coffee?! Yep.

Why, Charlie, you old goat!

Where'd you scrounge up the water?

You know us old-timers, Major. We have our ways.

Oh, that's fine.

Well, don't waste it.

What in the name of common sense you got in that?

You know I didn't have any spare water,

so I used whiskey.

Charlie, I'm gonna...

Say, boy...

what's eatin' you? What's the matter?

Oh, I was just thinkin'.

About old Ben, huh?

I've wanted to see a lot of men dead in my day,

but never somebody who was a friend.

Well, you know, Flint...

it's perfectly natural for a man to want to live.

It's sort of built in us,

like a bird when he flies south,

or a fish swimmin' upstream to where he was hatched.

A man wants to live,

even if there doesn't seem to be much of a reason.

Old Ben was tougher than most, so he...

took a little longer time dyin', that's all.

Yeah, but I wanted him to die.

I kept layin' there, and all I could think was,

"Hurry up, Ben. Die.

Get it over with."

Well, I'd have probably felt the same way myself.

They tried to kill me.

And bury me.

And bury me!

I'll kill 'em.

I'll... I'll kill 'em...

if it takes a million years!

I'll kill 'em!

I can't eat it, Major.

Tastes just like sand.

Charlie, that's the first time

I ever saw you do anything sensible

with your own cooking.

Aaaah!

Aaaah!

McCullough!

Do you have to do this now?

Right now, Kathy.

Go ahead, Ben.

Tell us what happened.

Ask...

Ask McCullough.

He... He done it.

He tried to smother me.

Couldn't wait for me to die.

Piled rocks on me.

I never thought...

he'd try to do that.

But I come back, McCullough.

I come back to...

To kill you!

Now, easy, Ben. Easy.

That's a pretty serious charge to make, Ben.

You said yourself you were out of your head.

Take a look at this.

I...

tore that off his jacket

when he was tryin' to finish me.

You rotten killer!

MAJOR: All right, anybody else?

You had no call to do that, Major.

I got call to do anything I have to

to keep order.

A couple of you boys... Pick Flint up.

Flint?

Take him to my wagon.

Goldangit.

Why didn't you speak up out there?

I know you didn't kill him.

How do you know?

Don't I/

I don't even know myself.

What kind of talk is that?

I laid there for a couple of days, Major.

Not five feet away from him.

I had a fever.

My leg felt like it was a tree trunk.

And I hurt.

I hurt like I never hurt before.

And all I could think was...

"Why doesn't he die?"

I told you about that.

It's a perfectly normal way to feel.

I didn't tell you a few things.

That last night, I did a lot of dreaming.

Crazy dreams.

I kept seeing water and...

thinking about things when I was a kid.

Then, all of a sudden, I was standing over Ben.

And I could hear him breathing.

It sounded sort of like a horse when he's dying,

and I couldn't stand the way it sounded,

so I took my jacket, put it over his head,

and then the breathing stopped.

It was like I was two people.

Like I was doin' it,

and yet I was standing back, watching.

And even though it was murder, I was glad,

because he'd be dead and I could get out of there.

You were out of your head with that snake bite.

What difference does that make?

Flint, it could make a lot of difference.

Those people out there are just waitin' for Colter to get back.

I don't know how I could...

do a thing like that to Ben.

Not to Ben.

You couldn't.

Major! Major!

Here comes Hawks! Ha ha ha!

Here it is, folks! Come and get your water!

Just like I told you, Charlie...

Use it all the way to California.

That was lucky, wasn't it?

He led us out there

just like he'd been raised in this country.

He did, huh?

That's good, Johnny.

I got something I want to show you. Come on back here.

All right.

What's happened?

Come on, I'll tell you.

No.

It can't be.

I buried him.

Did you see him do it?

Who?

McCullough.

Did you see him try and smother the old man?

That's right, Johnny.

Most of these people think McCullough tried to kill old Ben.

We don't think. We know.

John?

How about it?

Did I?

Don't you know?

Well, Flint was delirious for three days.

He was out of his mind.

That's all we need to know!

Hold it!

Come on, leave him alone!

Bill... we shoot the next man

that tries to lay a hand on Flint.

Get away from him, all of you!

OWEN: We won't let him get away with what he did!

How about that?!

All right, now, stop it!

He didn't do anything!

What did you say?

Go ahead, Johnny.

Speak your piece.

Flint didn't try to kill Mr. Burns.

Shut up, son.

No, it's the truth.

I did.

Mr. Burns was dying.

Everyone thought so.

And it was all right till Flint got bitten by the snake,

and then he was out of his mind.

John! No!

I'm sorry, Kathy.

The only excuse I can offer is that...

something happened to me out there.

The desert, no water...

no one to help me, not even to talk to. I just...

Mr. Burns...

everyone said you were going to die anyway.

And...

I didn't want to die out there alone.

At the time, it didn't feel like...

I mean, somehow it didn't seem like it was murder.

You filthy little scum.

Why, you...

I told you to keep your mouth shut once.

Now try to open it.

I told him someday he'd eat his teeth.

Now...

I want you all to listen

because I'm gonna do some talkin'.

We was all three pretty low out there.

McCullough was out of his head.

I had all I could do to keep breathin'.

The boy here was scared to death.

There's nothing wrong with that,

seeing it's the first time

he ever was out in this rough country.

What I'm sayin' is...

we ain't never gonna know for sure

what really did happen out there.

Flint was snake-bit.

A man can do anything when he's snake-bit.

As for young Colter here...

Well, for a fella from the city,

I think he had a heap of guts to stay out there with me.

Oh, shucks. I...

I should've just laid down and died

like any decent critter,

and nothin' would've happened at all.

Nothin' but...

I ain't admitting anything did happen.

Is that the way you want it, Ben?

I said it, didn't I?

All right, you heard it.

Go on back to your wagons, everybody.

Go on, get!

Just a minute, boy.

You know you're a greenhorn out here, boy.

That's why I've gotta say what I'm gonna to you.

Whenever you want to kill a man,

don't ever pick one as ornery as me.

Heh!

This is the last one. You eat all this soup,

you're gonna grow up to be nice and mean.

You know, there's much been made out of that, uh...

That legend water.

All right, don't rub it in.

KATHY: John?

If Grandfather can forgive you...

I can, too.

How can I forgive myself?

Myself.

Don't worry. They'll be all right.

Maybe.

No, not maybe.

Because she told me she'd marry him,

no matter what happened.

Stubborn, just like her ma.

Ben, I never figured you to be the forgiving type.

You ain't never had a granddaughter.

You know, McCullough...

if it had been you that tried to kill me,

I'd have chased you all over the world

just to cut your throat.

But I never would've had a chance.

Neither would you, if you was in my shoes.

Because, well...

this is our backyard.

When we kill a man, he stayed killed.

You know...

that's the trouble with this here younger generation.

Heh heh. They can't do anything right.