Original subtitles

♪ [ trumpet ]

There was a time when women were

as scarce in the Dakotas as plug hats and good whiskey.

In an era of hardship and violence,

there was good reason to leave the ladies behind,

but as the men fenced their homesteads

and built their houses of sod,

they began to long for the sight and sound of a woman,

for someone to take the edge off the hard life

and the loneliness of the plains.

But what could induce a woman to come to the cruel Dakotas,

blazing under the summer sun,

stormed swept in winter?

We'll find out now in a story we call...

[ wagon approaching ]

[ thick Swedish accent ] Whoa, Stor.

Whoa, boy.

Good day, Mr. Mudd.

Howdy, Gustav. You meeting the stage?

Yeah. Do you have the thing I ordered?

The mattress and that new-fangled hay-burning stove?

Come in Tuesday last.

Good, good.

Uh... who are you meeting?

I'm, uh, meeting a lady.

A lady?

Ja.

[ laughs ] You bought yourself a bride, huh, Gustav?

A bride. Ja.

But I did not buy her.

We know each other already in Sweden.

You mean she came all the way from Sweden to marry you?

Ja,sure. It was agreed before I left.

Well, Gustav, that's been, uh...

Seven years.

It was seven years ago I come here to homestead.

Hey, boys, give us a hand with that stove, will ya?

You ain't seen her in all that time?

No, but we write each other.

Be careful with it, boys.

It's brand new.

That's it.

What took her so long to get here?

Well, there was no money before.

Everything I could save went to this day.

[ laughs ] Thank you.

A lady.

Here in Landscape.

A pretty little gal.

She is pretty now, ain't she, Gustav?

She used to be.

Well, that don't matter none.

Ain't enough of them you can be choosy.

Getting here is hard enough, but...

getting them to stay, that's another thing.

Uh, Britta will stay.

Yeah. I remember my woman.

She come from the east to marry a rancher

over in Stone Creek.

He was scalped by the Indians

before she got here, so...

I took her instead.

I did not know you were married.

Yeah, we had us a soddy over on a quarter section

about 20 miles from here.

It was 10 months before she saw another woman.

Then we got word this Swede had settled on a claim nearby

and brought his bride with him.

Maggie walked over six miles just to see her,

and when the two of them looked at each other,

they plum busted down and cried.

That's how hungry they was for a female voice.

Funny part of it was,

that Swedish woman couldn't speak any English,

and Maggie didn't know Swede.

Where is your wife now?

I don't know.

She left when the grasshoppers come.

She said she didn't mind the cold and the heat, and hauling water.

When them insects ate up her lace curtains,

that was just too much.

[ horses approaching ]

Why, here comes the stage.

Yeah.

Well, I hope you have better luck than I did, Gustav.

Britta will be happy here.

She is not a woman to fuss about little things,

like curtains.

Hey, Ed.

Britta.

Gustav.

Oh, it has been a long time.

Ja.

There is much I have to tell you.

Yes, Gustav.

About--

About the farm.

It's a good farm.

Yes, yes.

Britta.

[ thud ][ both gasp ]

MAN: Yeah, yeah.

[ thud ]

Oh, my trousseau. Please be careful!

What is it?

It's my trousseau.

All my beautiful things for our new house.

Tablecloths, bedspreads.

Please, Gustav, tell them to be careful.

Ja, ja.

Easy, boys. Easy.

Thank you. Thank you.

MUDD: It's very heavy, hey, Gustav?

Ja, ja.

Thank you.

Oh, Mr. Mudd, this is Britta.

Britta, Mr. Mudd.

How do you do?

It's a pleasure, ma'am.

You know the town of Landscape don't see too many fine ladies.

Last one through was with a traveling carnival.

Cowpokes came from miles around just to take a look at her.

They was a little disappointed, though.

Lady had a beard.

[ Mudd laughs ]

[ clears throat ]

Oh, I better go and see if that stage driver needs a drink.

Ja, ja.

You take good care of her, now, Gustav.

We want her to stay.

GUSTAV: She will stay.

I picked you some flowers.

They're in here somewhere.

Prairie flowers.Oh.

They don't be so good very long in the heat.

Oh, well, yes,

but it was very kind of you, anyway.

Ja.We go now.

We must hurry.

The preacher is waiting.

The preacher is waiting?

Ja,sure, so we can be married.

But I just got here.

That is why you are here, to marry me.

Gustav, it has been seven years.

I thought we had time to get acquainted.

It is a long way to the farm.

It will be two weeks before I come back to town.

We get married now.

We get acquainted later.

[ spurs horse ]

And now, Britta, do you take Gustav

to be your lawful, wedded husband,

to love and to cherish,

to honor and obey,

in sickness and in health,

till death do you part?

I do.

I now pronounce you man and wife.

Well, Gustav, kiss the bride.

Oh, ja.

I'll ride out to see you in a week or two.

I'll hope you'll like it here.

I'll tell you something.

The men, they open up a country.

Clear it, fence it, plow it, plant it,

but it takes the women to gentle it down

and make it respectable.

The Dakotas won't amount to anything

until the ladies come.

Goodbye.Goodbye.

Goodbye.

[ spurs horse ]

May the lord go with you.

Gustav? Ja?

We are going the wrong way.

Why do you say that?

Well, there's nothing out there.

Nothing? Out there is home.

Home?

I'm glad you're here, Britta.

Are you, Gustav?

Ja.

It is no good for a man to live alone on the prairie,

no one to talk to,

no one to make the soap or milk the cows.

Now that you're here, I will have time to make

the fences strong.

Gustav? Ja?

Have I changed?

You are more beautiful than I remember.

But you are pale. The sun will change that.

And you are skinny. Too skinny.

The axle is broke.

I cannot fix it.

We do not have the tools.

What do we do now?

We ride Stor.

I come back in the morning,

make the wagon as good as new.

Oh, Gustav, I'm so tired.

Uh--

My friends, the Browns,

they live just a few miles down the road.

Maybe I leave you with them for tonight.

[ Britta groans ]

Dan?

Gustav and Britta are coming.

Why, Gustav never told us she was so lovely.

No lovelier than my bride.

Such nonsense.

Whoa, Stor.

Thank you.

Mary, Dan,

this is my wife.

Howdy, Ms. Olenson.How do you do?

Britta, it's so good to see another woman out here.

I hope you like to listen, because I've stored up

half a year of female talk?

Your wagon break down, Gustav?

Ja.About four miles back.

Well, let's go fix it.

No, it is late, and Britta's tired.

Can you give her a place to sleep for tonight?

I come back in the morning and fix the wagon.

She's welcome to stay.

And you, too, Gustav.

No, I must get on.

I have the livestock to water and the cows to milk.

Good night, Britta.

Tomorrow I take you home.

Goodnight, Gustav.

[ spurs horse ]

You'll sleep here.

It's not very fancy.

Next year we hope to save enough for a real floor.

Still it's better than when I came.

There wasn't even a bedstead.

All Dan needed to make of his bed was a hole.

Where will you sleep?

We'll put a tent down by the stove.

Oh, no. I couldn't do that.

Nonsense.

You need the privacy.

A place to catch up on your thoughts.

Things have happened awfully fast for you, I know.

I don't think I could ever get used to it.

Of course you can.

No.

All the way from Sweden,

on the boat, on the train, in the stage.

I could only think that, "soon, I will be with Gustav,

"and he will make me forget

all my fears and my homesickness,"

but he's a stranger.

It takes time to bridge seven years of waiting.

Wait a little.

If you love him, it will be.

Now, close your eyes, Britta.

Do not open them until I tell you.

[ chuckles ]

Whoa, Stor. Whoa, boy.

Now.

There it is, Britta.

You see, our home.

Well, what you think?

But it's made of dirt!

Yeah, sure, it is soddy,

but it is better than most.

There are not many hills in this country

to surround a house with strong walls.

Come, I show you.

On the hottest day, it is cool in here,

and in the winter, when the wind cuts like a knife,

you will be snug.

Oh, see the windows?

Feel.

Feel.

That is real glass.

[sighs wearily]

It is a surprise for you.

[ screams ]

[ sobs ]Little Britta.

Little Britta.

I won't live in a mud house,

and I won't live in a house where

animals lie in the living room.

I build a fence to keep the animals away from the house.

This is not a house. It's a cave.

And I will not live in it!

[ sobs ]Britta...

My trousseau.

Oh, there's not a place in all the county

for my beautiful trousseau.

Britta, I warn you.

This is no way for a wife to behave.

Then I will not be your wife.

I'm sorry I ever left Sweden,

and I'm sorry I waited for you for seven years.

Very well, then.

It is settled.

You do not have to stay.

Dan.

Whoa, Stor.

What's this?

I've come to say goodbye.

A quarrel so soon, Gustav?

Britta do not wish to stay.

Well, I can't say as I blame her.

Still, it's a shame, her, uh,

coming all the way out here and all.

Guess there ain't nothing you can do about it.

No.

They say, sometimes,

you time 'em up for a few days,

they change their mind.

That is for the rancher.

I do not want a wife I can only keep with a rope.

Give her a little time, Gustav.

Maybe she'll change her mind.

Maybe she will,

but then I change mine.

I never should have brought her here.

I thought she was different.

I thought she was strong. I thought--

I thought she would like it.

You had seven years to adjust to this country.

You expected her to do it in two days?

I expected her to share the life I have had here.

I thought she would be happy, like--

like anything.

Talk to her, Gustav.

It's no good.

Don't leave him, Britta.

He's not the Gustav I remember.

He used to be so gentle and tender.

Not once had he made me feel that he wants me here,

except to mend and wash his dirty shirts.

Well, it's hard for him to say it,

but he loves you.

You wouldn't understand what it means

to come to a new country and marry a man

who's a stranger to you.

You mean, Gustav never told you?

Tell me what?

Why, child, I was a mail-order bride.

Dan sent for me, sight unseen,

and I came because it was the only way I could get a man.

Oh, Mary. I'm so sorry, I didn't know.

Back home, I was a regular wallflower.

There wasn't a man who ever looked at me twice.

I lived with my father until I was 30, and...

when he died, I was suddenly very alone.

I read in the papers how scarce

unmarried women were out here.

The saying went that farmers and ranchers

would marry anything that got off the stage.

Some of them even advertised for wives.

After a few more lonely years,

I began reading those notices seriously.

Then, one day I picked up my pen

and wrote an answer.

That's how I met Dan.

We never laid eyes on each other

until the day we were married.

And you did not have any doubts?

Of course I did.

When Dan sent me the railroad ticket,

I almost didn't come.

I'd heard of other girls who'd turn the tickets in for money.

But his letters had a loneliness to match mine.

You have been happy?

Oh, yes.

When I stepped off the train,

I felt so exposed,

so unready,

and there he was.

The wonder of it was not that I loved him so easily...

but he loved me.

Mary,

we could have been friends.

Are you sure you want to leave?

[ door opens ]

Gustav says you better hurry, or you'll miss the stage.

Whoop, Stor.

Whoa, Stor.[ commotion in saloon ]

Well, now.

If it ain't the newly-weds.

Back so soon, huh?

You ain't letting her get away, are you Gustav?

Britta do not like it here.

Doggone it, Gustav,

I don't know how you could look out across the prairie

and not be reminded of those big, brown eyes.

Mr. Mudd, the stage not leave yet?

It's, uh...

due any time now.

Good.

Bringing us a whole load of gals.

Boys are inside celebrating already.

You want me to write to you, Gustav?

Just to let me know you arrived safe.

All right.

[ stage approaching ]

That will be the stage.

Ja.

You better leave now.

I'll be all right.

Are you sure?

Yes.

Well.

Goodbye.

Goodbye.

[ horses approaching ]

[ men whooping ]

Hey, here comes the girls!

[ men clamoring ]

Whoopee!

[ all cheering ]

MAN: Well, howdy there. Hey!

This one's mine.

Get your hands off my wife.

Ah!

Britta?Yes, Gustav?

You are going to learn to live in a soddy.Yes, Gustav.

You will get used to the snakes, and the heat, and the prairie.

Yes, Gustav.

And when the time comes,

you will give me sons to help with the planting and the harvest.

Yes, Gustav.

Britta, it's time to go home.

The men who homesteaded the Dakotas couldn't offer

their women much more than a sod house

with a dirt floor and a window overlooking the prairie,

but that didn't seem to matter.

Wherever Britta and women like her

found the love of a good man,

there they stayed.

There was home.

Next week, another story of our Western heritage.