Original subtitles

♪ [ trumpet ]

This is the journal of Peter Lassen.

An account of his experiences leading a small band of settlers

through the rugged and treacherous Sierra Nevada mountains.

Many of them died along the way, and those who lived may have envied the dead.

Theirs was an ordeal of near starvation.

You see, these were some of the first to venture into uncharted wilderness.

The trail they blazed was later to become known

as the "Lassen Death Route."

We're going to show you why it got that name

and how the lives of Lassen and his entire party

came to depend on what they would find on...

"Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:

"Thou anointest my head with oil;

"my cup runneth over.

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Amen.GROUP: Amen.

Trenner, I'm sorry.

What happened, Peter?

I tried to tell him how sorry I am about his wife. I guess he still blames me.

Blames you?

He's gotta blame somebody.

But why?Human nature.

It certainly isn't your fault his wife got the fever.

I know that, and you know it, but I can expect that from Trenner and the others.

But I don't understand how they could--It's simple.

I'm the guide. They've got a right to expect miracles.

You did everything you could for Ann Trenner.

But it wasn't enough, was it, Judy?

Just like it wasn't enough when the Hartman boy died or when Sam Potter died.

They are dying one by one, and there's nothing I can do about it.

You've gotta stop torturing yourself like this.

Those deaths are not your fault.

No, maybe not.

Still, I came to you all in St. Louis and stirred up all your hopes and dreams.

What was it I said?

"I'll lead you to the promised land-- Sacramento Valley, California.

Best farmland in the world. Gonna build a fine little town there."

That's right, Peter.

It was what every one of us was looking for and hoping for.

Those two men we lost to the Indians back on the plains,

they're not gonna see that little town, are they?

We all knew there were risks. You told us about them.

Yeah.

Everything was going pretty good till we got to these mountains.

Every night, I hear the children crying for food,

and the mothers saying, "Tomorrow."

At the end of each day, there's still no food.

Every day, the people are drifting farther away from me, Judy.

Not all of us, Peter.

I know that.

If it wasn't for you and your brother, Joel, I don't know what I would do.

It'll all be different when we get to the Sacramento Valley.

This hunger's got everyone on edge.

But remember how it was before the mountains?

Everybody laughing and working together?

It'll be like that again. You'll see.

It's Joel.

Pete. Pete, you gotta come quick.

It's Trenner. He's trying to stir the others up against ya.

Well, that shouldn't be too hard for him to do.

Pete, you gotta stop him.

All right. Let's go down and see what he's got to say.

My wife is the sixth among us to die in this godforsaken country.

If you remember right, Lassen said he'd get us to California safely.

Well, let's not fool ourselves any longer.

We're starving to death up here, just like the Donner Party did two years ago.

Yes, it was in these very same mountains that the survivors

turned to cannibalism just so they could stay alive.

Lassen, I got something to say to you.

We're all agreed. We turn back right now.

Now, you listen to me.

Turning back would be the worst thing you could do.

You've already gone ten days without finding a fresh supply of meat.

Up ahead, we're most likely to find it.

But turn back over the same ground we just covered,

and you know there's nothing.

Any one of you think you can survive another ten days

without a new supply of food?

All right.

The faster we get underway, the faster we get out of this barren country.

Why didn't you tell us back in Missouri that we'd have to cross the Sierra Nevadas?

'Cause if he had, nobody'd come with him.

Then he'd have nobody to sell his precious Sacramento land to.

I had planned to cross the desert,

but we couldn't get a full supply of water before we started.

We'd all be dead by now if we'd have tried it.

Then we didn't have much chance either way.

Why didn't we stop in Nevada?

Mrs. Dobson, we agreed to go all the way to California. Now, you know that.

That farmland's not gonna do us much good

if none of us lives to see it.

You're not being fair.

Peter's doing everything he can to get you there.

Well, it's not good enough.

Then maybe you'd like to take over as guide, Trenner.

Would ya?

Would anybody like to take my place?

I'd be more than happy to step down if somebody thinks

they can do a better job than I'm doing.

What about it?

All right. We'll keep doing things my way.

Let's get back into the wagons. We still got four hours of good daylight left.

[ horse whinnies ]

Our animals are ready to drop.

I think our best chance is to get rid of most of the weight we've been carrying.

That means throwing away a lot of things that none of us want to part with,

but it's gotta be done.

I want you to get rid of all furniture, tools,

everything that isn't absolutely necessary for survival.

If we throw away our farm tools, how we gonna work the land,

if and when we get to Sacramento?

If we don't throw them away, we might not get there at all.

You fixin' to take that chair?

That's right. It was Ann's favorite.

I've had to give up practically everything she owned.

I'm not giving up this chair.

Look, Trenner, I know how you feel, and I'd like to let you take it.

Like to let me? You got nothing to say about it, Lassen.

The chair stays on the wagon.The chair goes.

Everybody's had to give up things they're fond of.

You think you're big enough to take it away from me?

If I have to, maybe.

I hope you won't make that necessary.

[ grunts, groans ]

[ grunting ]

Ooh!

Stop it, Trenner! Stop it, you hear me?[ Women gasping ]

Stop it!Stop!

Let him go, Joel!

[ coughing ]

[ grunting ]

[ groans ]

Aahh!

Drop it, Trenner!

Drop it!

Aah!Drop it!

[ coughing ]

[ Woman crying ]

[ panting ]

Joel, get him out of there.

Let's get in our wagons and move out of here.

Collier.

How's Trenner, Joel?

Aw, he's all right.

He almost killed you.

Another second, you'd have been a gonner for sure.

I know. Thanks for stepping in when you did.

Trenner must've been half crazy, attacking you that way.

I hope this taught him a lesson.

Sure taught me one.

What?

That the only people I can count on are you two.

All the others would've stood by and let him kill me.

Nobody even stepped in to stop him,

and that's something I'm not gonna forget.

It's not easy looking after the lives of people who would let you die

and probably congratulate the man who did it.

Maybe if you could give them some good news.

That might help hold them together.

How much farther do you think it is?

That's hard to say.

JUDY: We're still a long way, aren't we?

I don't know.

What?

I don't know.

We're lost.Oh, no.

But the map.The map is wrong.

None of the landmarks are showing up. I don't know where we are.

I haven't spotted a landmark for the past five days now.

What do you think our chances are?

It's hard to say.

We've been following the sunsets,

so we've gotta be moving steadily westward.

That's what happened to the Donner Party.

They got lost up here too.

Hey, everybody, listen.

I overheard Lassen and Joel talking.

I'm telling you we're lost. He don't know where we are.

Well, come on.[ chattering ]

What's that?[ chattering continues ]

All right. There he is. Go on. Ask him for yourselves.

Let's find out the truth.

Trenner says we're lost. Is that the truth, Lassen?

Of course not. He's making it up.It's the truth!

I swear it is!

You're not gonna make a liar out of me.

I'm gonna prove what I'm saying. He writes everything down in his log.

Let's take a look at that, huh?

Nobody touches that log!

MAN: If he's telling the truth, there's no reason

why we shouldn't see that log.

Here it is!

[ murmuring ]Let's hear it.

Right here on the last page. Read what he says in his own words.

"Still haven't seen a landmark.

"Fourth day away from last position charted on map--

"the Humboldt basin.

"Entire party weak with hunger.

"Should this be found with our remains,

let it be a testament to our struggle."

Then Trenner was right.

We are going to die up here.

Lassen lied to us.

He had to lie to you.

He was afraid if you found out the truth, you'd panic,

and that's just what you're doing.

He lied to save his skin.

Maybe we will die up here, but at least we'll have the satisfaction

of hanging the man that's responsible for it.

Get his horse. Get some rope. Let's get him over here.

He deserves it.No! Stop it! Leave him alone!

All right. Right here.

All right. Let's get him on the horse.

No! This is murder! Stop it!

Get her outta here!Leave her alone!

Joel, tell them, please!Listen to me!

Lassen is our only chance to get outta here alive.

You kill him, you kill all of us.

We never had a chance. He's just as lost as we are.

No. No, we're not lost.

We're only two days from the Sacramento Valley.

What?I can prove it.

You see that mountain up there-- the highest one?

That's Mount Saint Joseph. That's the one I've been looking for.

I can show you the Sacramento Valley from there.

It's just on the other side.He's stalling.

It'll take us two or three days to get up there, and he knows it.

What if you find out he's telling the truth?

How will you live with yourself then?

She's right. We can't hang him until we make sure he's lying.

If a few of us left at dawn, we could be at the top by nightfall.

We ain't got time.A man's life is at stake!

All our lives are at stake.

Now, you gotta check out his story.

Anybody else beside Trenner wanna see him hang now?

Let him come down.

But if we don't see that valley,

you're never coming back.

[ crickets chirping ]

[ rock clacks ]

[ rock clacks ]

[ quietly ] Pete. It's me, Joel.

[ quietly ] Joel, what are you doing?

Helping you get outta here.

No. If the others find out, they'll kill ya.

Nobody'll ever know it was me helped you get away.

Course they will. Who else would they suspect?

Judy. Come on.

She's waiting with the horses. One for you, one for her.

No. I'm not going, Joel.

Are you crazy?

They'll kill you if you...

Unless the Sacramento really is on the other side of that mountain.

I don't know if it is or not.

Looks like Mount Saint Joseph.

But I'm not sure. I've never seen it from this side before.

Well, then, you can't afford to take the chance.

I've got to. I can't leave those people out here.

I'm the guide.

If it's not there, you won't be able to talk them out of stringing you up.

Now, you know that, don't ya?

Yeah, I know.

Well, what good ya gonna do 'em if you're dead?

Well, if it isn't there, maybe I deserve to be strung up.

I don't know. I know I've got to see this thing through.

Now, tell Judy I'm sorry.

[ footsteps approaching ]It's a guard.

Come on, Pete. Come on. It's your last chance.

Get going, Joel.

All right, Charlie. Cut him loose.

That won't be necessary.

He could've gotten away during the night.

Now, why would I wanna do that?

We're almost there.

I'll get saddled up. We'll get going.

[ whinnies ]Easy, boy. Easy now.

Well, we oughta be able to see the other side from up there.

What do you see?Absolutely nothing.

It's too cloudy. We'll have to wait.

We haven't got time to wait. Our families are starving to death back there.

Well, how much longer ya gonna let him keep stallin' ya?

Shut up, Trenner.

We said we'd wait until we could see what was down there.

Now, look, we could climb down.

If we did, we probably wouldn't have the strength to climb back up.

Still, we did agree to check his story. Let's wait a while.

Maybe it'll clear enough for us to see.

It'll probably stay like this for weeks.

And I'll bet you Lassen knew it.

That's why he led us up here on a wild-goose chase.

Wait a minute. He had a chance to escape, and he didn't.

Doesn't that prove anything to you?

Yeah. It proves he thought he could outsmart us.

You're right, Trenner. That mist may last for days,

if it ever does clear up this high up!

Well, then, let's quit wasting time!

Now hold it! You said you'd wait

until we found out what was down there.

We're not waiting any longer. Get him!Now wait a minute!

Come on. There's a good tree down by the horses.

Well, just don't leave him there!

[ chuckling ]

It's there. Yes.

It's the Sacramento Valley.

[ laughing ] It is. It's there.

Hey, wait! Wait! Stop!

Wait! Stop!

I see it! I see the valley!

It's the Sacramento!

What's he saying?

What difference does it make?

Wait!

All right, Lassen. You got anything to say?

'Cause it's really gonna be your last chance.

Nothing that would change your mind.

You all know what you're doing is wrong.

I don't have to tell you. I feel sorry for you.

If you live, you're going to have to live with the guilt of my murder.

Stop! You gotta stop the hanging!

Don't do it!

Maybe he's right.

His death won't do the rest of us any good.

And maybe the valley is down there.

It's justice, Collier. He's getting what he deserves.

What's the matter? You turning yellow, Collier? We all agreed to pull the rope.

I'll do my duty like everybody else, I guess.

Stop!

What's the matter with you?

I said I saw it! I saw the valley!

You gotta stop!Did you hear him? Joel said he saw it!

He'll say anything to stop the hanging.

But it won't work this time. All right, men, pull!

What do you think you're doing?Hold it, Trenner! Hold it!

Now, I saw it-- the Sacramento Valley plain as day.

Go on, all of you. Go on. Take a look.

You're not just saying that, are you, Joel?

No. No, it's there.

We made it, Pete. We made it.

And it's as beautiful as you said.

Oh, thank God, Joel!

Thank God! [ men shouting ]

[ laughing ]We found it!

[ shouting, laughing continue ]

TRENNER: Isn't it beautiful? Look at that!

Oh, wonderful!

Well, we went through an awful lot, but it was worth it.

It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

I won't argue with you about that.

Come on.

It was the most beautiful sight any of them had ever seen.

They settled in the Sacramento Valley

within sight of the mountain that marked the way to their salvation,

and, in 1856, changed its name to Lassen Peak

in honor of their guide.

Located in the Cascade Range,

Lassen Peak erupted in 1914 and 1915,

leading to the creation of Lassen Volcanic National Park.

You can visit there yourself and climb the trail up Lassen Peak

just as Peter Lassen did back in 1848.