Original subtitles

Circle up!

Circle up! Indians!

Indians!

Oh! He got me! Bill!

We'll help you, Major!

We're comin', Major!

Easy does it. He almost strangled me yesterday.

Yeah, I know. Major! Wake up!

Get him up! Wake up! Wake up!

Wake up! Wake up!

Major!

Oh, what in tarnation

are you two half-wits tryin' to do, anyway?

Tryin' to save you from the Indians.

But the next time, I'm gonna stay in that bed

and let 'em scalp you!

Well, are you all packed like I told you?

Packed. You made us pack before you made us go to bed.

This is the worst last night we've ever spent in San Francisco.

You'll be thankin' me for it later on in the day.

Now, get movin'.

Come in!

Finish your nightmare, Major?

What are you doin' up and all dressed?

Haven't you been to bed yet? Yeah.

Been readin' about us.

Us?

SAM: "Go West, Young Man!" said Horace Greeley,

and his words came thundering out of the newspaper,

aimed straight for me.

And, all at once, a boyhood longing

assumed a form and a destination,

and I saw myself in buckskins on a noble animal...

Part of a heroic cavalcade.

That's as reasonable an explanation

as I can give for Aunt Em and I

joining the Seth Adams Wagon Train in St. Louis.

We had pooled our resources

to take the old family printing press West.

Like most greenhorns, I arrived in St. Louis...

Absolutely fat with ignorance.

I was eager to be taken,

and the St. Louis merchants were happy to oblige.

They got rid of things

they'd had on their shelves for years.

It isn't easy being a greenhorn.

It takes real work,

and believe me I worked at it.

I thought I was a confirmed bachelor,

but when I met Melanie,

the world suddenly had a whole new dimension.

I'd been told everyone on the train

was at the dance that night.

As far as I can remember,

there was no one there but Melanie.

♪ Pretty brown eyes are lookin' at you ♪

♪ Pretty brown eyes are lookin' at you ♪

♪ Pretty brown eyes are lookin' at you ♪

♪ Skip to my Lou, my darlin' ♪

♪ Skip to my Lou, my darlin' ♪

♪ My darlin' ♪

♪ Skip to my Lou ♪

I know pronounce you man and wife,

and those whom God hath joined together,

let no man put asunder.

Sam and Melanie...

you're joining together

at the beginning of a long journey.

And those of us who are going to travel with you all those miles...

Well, we can't give you the gifts

that are usually given to a bridal couple,

like household goods.

But even if we could,

Sam hasn't got a spare inch of space

in that wagon to put it in!

And so, we offer you the things

that take no space and have no weight...

Friendship and affection

and prayers for your happiness.

And we wish for you all the things

that make life good...

and a growing love...

One that grows and grows,

and makes all things endurable and good.

Well, aren't you gonna kiss her, Sam?

So, Melanie and I set up housekeeping on wheels

and started for the horizon.

And all America was spread out around us

in beauty and glory.

And I felt like a man who had just come into a kingdom.

The greenhorn learns rather quickly

who his true friends are.

I took six horses west,

and one thing I've got for them...

From the beginning, they were absolutely honest.

They made it perfectly plain

to make things just as tough as they could.

They were going to do everything in their power

Now, pick up that horse's left hind foot, will you?

Hmm?

Evans, don't you know that the rear end of a horse

from the front?

Yes, sir. That's the end I know best.

Well, then will you please pick up his hoof?

Now, don't you get smart,

'cause I'll...

Evans, you can't reach him from there!

Well, he can't reach me from there, either.

Come on, now, do it, will you?

Well, if you'll give it to me, I'll...

Oh, let me show you. Here.

Whoa, son. Come here.

Come here. You hold his hoof

on your leg here, like this,

so you can work on it, you understand?

That clear to you? I see.

All right, then. Whoa.

He's on... He's on my foot.

He's on my foot! Get him off me!

Get over.

Get him off my foot! Get over.

Get him off! Ooh! Ohh

Oh, that killed me! That killed me!

Major? Hmm?

Major, I'm all... all through.

All right, Sam.

Let's take a look.

Whoa, son.

Say, Sam, you did a pretty good job.

You did all right.

Only took me seven hours.

Won't take you near so long

once you get the hang of it, Sam.

I've got six horses.

That 24 hooves.

Every four weeks, I've gotta shoe 24 hooves.

It's all part of goin' west, my boy.

Goin' west? I may not ever see the West...

if my horses have anything to say about it.

Oh, why couldn't I have bought some oxen or some mules?

Or why didn't I just stay home?

Sam, dear, is that you?

Yes, honey, it's me.

Sam, that's why you didn't stay home.

I have the tub full of hot water,

and you can soak as long as you want to.

You look so tired.

You know, she could've had any man she wanted on the train,

and she had to pick out one who can't even shoe a horse.

Well, my goodness...

you can't know everything.

You'd be so smart, nobody'd be able to bear you.

You kids go on. I'll take care of your horse for you.

Oh, thank you, thank you, sir.

Say, Major...

it isn't unreasonable, is it,

to actually... hate a horse?

Yes, Sam, it is.

But in some cases, it's understandable.

Now, go on, get out of here.

I'm relieving you, Ed!

SAM: I wish I could say

that eventually the horse and I became friends,

the way Flint and his horse were friends,

or a team, the way Bill and his horse were a team,

but the best I ever managed with Lucifer, Satan,

Mephistopheles, Old Scratch, Old Nick, and Beezelbub,

was a kind of, well, uneasy peace.

They tried to kill me whenever they had a chance.

It wasn't safe to turn my back

for even a minute.

Eh, stop that!

Hey, wait a minute, Bill!

The Major sent me out to spell you for a while, Sam.

He wants you to... Hey, what happened to you?

Oh, this...

Oh, skip it, Charlie.

Come around these horses...

Get him away from me, now.

He's not gonna bother you.

I know, but get him away!

I don't trust none of 'em.

Come on, now.

Ain't you gonna ride back to camp?

I'm not gonna sit on that.

Come on, now. Come on, now!

Here! You ain't gonna...

Come on, Lucifer.

Hey, Sam! How come you're not ridin'?

Never mind about me. What about those fellas that was chasin' you?

Them two back there? They been chasin' me ever since I left town.

But they're gonna have a long walk back, bet on that.

I was just on my way to help you.

What happened to you? Where were you?

My horse shot me. Your horse...

Don't laugh at me!

I'm not laughin' at you.

But it serves me right for askin'.

Oh, come on. Come on, come on.

SAM: It was all very humiliating.

We'd only been on the trail a few weeks,

and already my horse was a better shot than I was.

SAM: My eyes saw wonder everywhere,

for the golden touch of summer

had cast its spell on valley and on mountain.

And Melanie's laughter was a silken ribbon

tying up the hours.

Here, in the soft haze of summer,

even my horses mellowed into a certain tolerance.

You know, all greenhorns expect trouble

with the Indians.

In the dark hours of the night,

many a brave man breaks out in a cold sweat

at the thought of the scalping knife.

And many a quiet midnight is shattered

by the piercing scream

of a slumbering Indian fighter.

We were prepared to face Indians, all right,

but somehow, not the kind of Indians

Major Adams was doing his best to prepare us to face.

Now, folks, we've got a peace treaty

with the Indians in the this part of the country,

and they're not warlike by nature.

But I want to tell you one thing about 'em.

These Indians are notorious thieves.

They'll steal any goldarned thing

they can get their hands on.

So, the next few days, when we double the guards,

I don't want it to worry you.

Just keep your wagons closed up tight.

And above all things,

don't go wandering off by yourselves.

Now, is that clear? All right.

Ambush! Ambush!

White men!

Steal horse. Look, they go!

Ambush?

Where? I don't see anybody.

Huh.

They... They behind trees now.

You ride fast? Help Indian brother?

No, no, no. Me no do that.

Me belong to the wagon train there.

Major say me stay with train.

Me Black Feather. Me blood brother of Major Adams.

Oh, well, me glad to know you there...

uh, Black Feather.

But me no Indian. Me no know country.

Me no can help you.

How you say?

Me no know country. Me no, uh, help you, see?

What language you speak?

Me speak English.

You no speak very good.

Look, you, uh...

You go on up to the head of the train,

and you talk to Major Adams,

and he tell you what to do.

Hmm. Hmm.

Me go see Major Adams. Good.

Hey!

Hey, come back here with my horse!

Hawks, I want to make camp a little early tonight.

Hello, Major.

Just what in tarnation are you doing

way back here on foot?

What happened? Did you horse throw you again?

No, not my horse.

Say, do you have an Indian blood brother

by the name of Black Feather?

Did he tell you that two white men stole his horse?

Why, yes! Do you know him?

No, I don't know him!

Come on, get up here behind me.

Sam, how many times have I told you

not to talk to strange Indians?

I didn't talk to him. He talked to me.

Then I told him to go up the front of the train

and for him to talk to you.

You swallowed the oldest tale

there is on the plains.

"Two white men stole my horse."

He never had a horse to steal!

Well, he has one now.

Help! Help!

Two white men stole my horse!

Let's get out of here

before I lose my horse.

You see, the position of a young brave in his tribe

is determined in part by how many horses he's got

and how many of the white man's belongings

he's been able to, shall we say, accumulate.

The Indians around here place a great store on our clothes.

And naturally, we're his only source of supply,

so don't let yourself get lured away

from the protection of the train.

There's one thing that I want you to remember.

I don't want you to trust your ears.

By that, I mean that the things that you hear

are not necessarily what they seem to be.

For instance...

That could be a whippoorwill.

But it could be an Indian signaling

that there was a wagon that was unguarded.

Now, Indians aren't stupid.

They know that a turkey is good bait

for a hungry traveler.

Now, the point is, is that a bird...

or is that an Indian?

The main thing that I want you to remember is,

don't ride away after a bird that you don't see,

because you might be riding right into an ambush.

Right.

Just listen to those turkeys.

Wouldn't one of those be good for dinner?

Oh, I sure would fancy

a juicy drumstick right now.

Well, we aren't gonna have any.

Remember what Flint said?

Never trust a turkey.

He may be an Indian.

Billy! Hyah!

Aunt Em, I...

I hear pig. I swear I do.

I was just thinking the same thing.

Mmm, roast pork!

Mmm, you said a mouthful.

But what about what Mr. McCullough said?

Oh, he was just referring to birds.

He didn't say anything about pigs.

Here, Melanie, you take these reins.

I'm gonna take a look. But, Sam...

Here, just take the reins, now.

Hang on to them.

Sam, dear! Now, remember...

That's your last saddle horse!

You!

You... Listen, I'm no pigeon for nobody!

You understand that?!

You just take it easy!

All of you there!

What are you gonna do?

Hey!

Hey, George!

Hey!

Hey, Pete!

Pete, hey! It's your old...

You hammerhead!

What are you shootin' for?!

What if I was an Indian?

You want to start an Indian war or somethin'?!

Aunt Em! Melanie!

Whoo-hoo! It's me!

Oh, yes. Sam and I have always been very close,

every since he first came to live with me.

I'd wake right up in the middle of the night

if something was wrong with him.

I'm here in the bushes!

Whew! I'm working up quite an appetite.

Won't that roast pork taste good?

Mm-hmm!

You know, Sam ought to be showing up pretty soon.

Oh, Indians.

Every time they see me comin',

they got me right where they want me.

I warned you about their tricks, Sam.

You warned me about birds.

You didn't say anything about animals.

You come around tonight.

Tonight I'll give a lecture about animals.

Thanks a lot.

Oh, I should've stayed in the East,

where I could hide my stupidity in a barrel.

That's me... Sam Stupid.

The Major hasn't spoken to me for a couple of days.

Not that I blame him.

I lost my spare horses.

Every time an Indian sees me, wham!

Well, Sam... how do you feel?

Like a fool.

Don't let that worry you, Sam.

You got a lot of other people along with you.

You're all greenhorns.

They're all amateurs compared to me.

Nobody did a fool thing like I did.

No. I must admit

that everybody picked something different.

Major, answer me one question...

How can you stand all of us?

Well, it is a little hard sometimes.

Isn't it, Flint?

Yeah, but one thing... It's never dull.

You know, Major, maybe I didn't know about Indians

when I first joined up with this train,

but I'll tell you one thing...

No Indian is ever gonna take advantage of me again!

Never again!

Whew.

Hey, Bill! Bill!

Hey, Bill! The Major wants you back

at the Elliott wagon!

I'll take your place in the line!

Just keep headin' into the sun, will you?

Right. Right, Bill.

All right, Charlie! Keep headin' them into the sun!

Come on! Hi-ho, Sam!

SAM: I don't care who you are...

You've got to get a special feeling

when you ride up front... alone.

I was leading my forces across the wilderness.

I was America... on my way west.

I was unconquerable.

Aaaah! Aaaah!

Are you all right?

What's the matter with...

Wait! Wait!

Wait a minute! What's the matter?

Hold it! Wait! Ohh!

Hey! Wait a minute!

Listen! You got it all wrong!

What's the matter with you?!

Listen!

Hey!

Wait!

Why you bring here?

We have treaty with white man.

Him Chief of wagon train.

We not want trouble with wagon train.

They are rich wagon train.

Pay big ransom.

Take message to train.

Tell them their leader accidentally our prisoner.

Tell them send someone... talk terms.

Cut white man's bonds.

No way to treat white Chief.

Get away from me!

Get away! Come on!

I hear you've got a white prisoner.

Yes. You pay ransom?

I'd like to see him first.

Come.

Is this the way Gray Eagle

keeps his treaty with the white man?

White man hard to handle.

Most come from very stubborn tribe.

Yeah, they call it Irish.

Sam?

Sam? Sam.

Huh? Sam.

Flint. Yeah.

Yeah.

Well...

why, you...

You're not the one.

There!

Very stubborn tribe.

FLINT: Let me get this straight.

You want 24 rifles...

12 cases of ammunition,

six horses, and four women.

Is that all?

You are prepared to pay more?

I'm prepared to pay, uh...

two strings of beads.

For Chief of wagon train?

No, for the Chief, I'd pay four strings.

For him, you get two.

He no Chief?

He's just traveling with the train,

and he can't possibly scrape up six horses.

Surely he must be worth more than two strings of beads!

He's already lost three of his team.

Two strings of beads.

And make up your mind, ' because I'm leavin'.

I accept! Cut white man down!

Two strings of beads, huh?

I'll punch you in your beads!

That's enough, Sam!

Get on your horse. You'll be lucky to get out of here.

We go get them. No!

No, do not want white man.

Let white man go.

I let go. But first I bring back scalp.

No, no! White man only worth two strings of beads.

Not worth war with all white men.

Before you take other prisoner,

you find out tribe.

Never take Irish tribe again!

You're not being reasonable, Sam.

The land belongs to the Indians.

If anybody's intruding, it's us.

Quit tryin' to make excuses for 'em.

I'm not makin' excuses for 'em.

I'm tellin' you the facts.

Look at this way... We ride across their land.

We got horses, we have food,

we have all the provisions we needs, everything that they want.

Now, you can't blame them.

I mean, it's hard to get mad at them

for trying to get those things.

It's not hard for me. They stole my horses,

stole my saddle, stole my clothes!

Stole the horse that Major Adams lent to me!

And on top of it, they stole me!

They've had it in for me ever since I left Saint Joe.

Sam, believe me, it's not personal.

No, not personal to you, because you weren't left in the bulrushes,

without a gun or a fig leaf!

I tell you, I'm fed up to here. I'm finished with 'em!

And I'm gonna kill every one of 'em!

That's what I'm gonna do! I'm gonna kill 'em!

You're not going back there.

Look, Flint, this is my fight!

I hated to do that, Sam.

And in this manner,

the Indian wars of Samuel T. Evans

passed into history.

By the time I was fully conscious,

we were out of Black Feather's territory.

When the western saga

is finally committed to history books,

and the deeds of giants condensed into paragraphs,

the thousands who followed them

will be unsung and unremembered.

But let me tell you... We suffered.

And we suffered ingloriously.

No one ever sings a song

to a waterlogged hero.

And no one ever eulogizes

the man melting away drop by drop

in the western sweatbox of August.

No mention will be made of those who kept watch

on the icy summits,

or those who braced themselves

against the wind and the dust

moving a foot forward and falling three feet back.

"Go West, young man!" wrote Horace Greeley

in his nice, snug newspaper office.

I wish he'd been with us.

But from these hardships came a new sense of values.

Small things, always taken for granted,

assumed importance.

The shade of friendly trees,

the gentleness of green meadows,

the cool invitation of mountain streams.

The sudden absence of torment

made all that we looked upon beautiful and good.

Looking back now, I can see

that I was in a constant state of agitation

about one thing or another every mile of the way.

That's the only excuse I can give

for being so dense about Melanie.

Sam? Oh, honey.

I gotta get this bridle fixed.

Melanie? Have you told Sam?

Oh, I've tried.

But he has so much on his mind right now.

Ohh, and I thought you were gonna tell him last night,

right after dinner.

Well, I was, but he fell asleep.

Ohh. Sam can be so thickheaded sometimes.

Well, if you wait long enough,

you won't have to tell him.

Oh, Aunt Em.

Do you think he'll be happy about it, Aunt Em?

Happy? Ohh! Why, child,

he'll think his cup runneth over.

Good evening, Melanie. Good evening, Major.

Would you like some coffee?

No, thank you.

WOOSTER: Is that Melanie out there?

Yes, it is, nosey.

Come on, sit down a minute, honey.

How you feelin'?

Oh, I never felt better.

You know something? You never looked better in your life.

Have you told Sam yet?

I haven't told anyone but Aunt Em.

How did you know?

Honey, you probably don't realize it,

but you look different.

There's kind of a glow about you,

like a light was shining from inside of you.

Now, don't say anything until Sam knows.

Oh, of course not. Heh heh!

Here's a cup of fresh milk.

Drink every drop. I'm not hungry.

Never you mind. Maybe somebody else

not a million miles away just might be hungry.

You've got to drink a lot of milk, you know.

Oh, Charlie! You know, too?

Sure I know. I'm not stupid, you know.

Doesn't take a house to fall on me.

Charlie, don't tell anybody.

I'm not gonna tell anybody.

But these things get out, you know.

But she hasn't even told Sam yet.

Now, don't tell me he's gonna be surprised!

Good evening, Melanie.

Mrs. Hawkins gave me these four eggs

and said for you to eat them all by yourself,

and she also sent over a congratulations.

What's the matter? Didn't you know?

I know, it's kind of hard to keep this kind of a secret

from the whole wagon train.

Everybody lives so close together.

You couples startin' out...

It's sort of like they're livin' their own love story

all over again.

These people are always gonna be a jump or two ahead of you.

Everyone knows but Sam.

Don't you worry. He's gonna find out about it, too.

Yes, he is.

Ohh!

I something the matter, Sam?

I don't know, honey. Lately, every morning,

I seem to...

wake up sort of sick to my stomach.

Hey, Sam. Bill just caught a couple of raccoons.

I'll give you one to cook for supper tonight.

Raccoon? Yeah.

I don't think Melanie would know how to prepare a raccoon.

Why don't you cook it for her and surprise her?

Me? I don't think I could boil water without burnin' it.

Well, it's about time you learned to cook.

You're gonna be a family man one of these days,

and them babies want to eat when they want to eat.

I don't think babies would enjoy raccoon.

I can't say I would, either.

Did you ever taste any? No, never did.

You'll love it, Sam. Very simple to prepare.

Just skin it, kind of spread it apart like that,

wash down the inside. If you don't got water, just throw it in the pot.

Gotta boil it anyway.

You gotta par-boil it for two hours

get that musky smell out of it anyway.

Don't tell me...

While they're boilin', throw the potatoes in

and the onions, and let him bubble.

And while he's bubblin',

you go out and take about a ten-mile hike.

That's to work up an appetite.

You come back, just pull that little man out,

tear him apart... mmm! Can't you just taste him?

There's nothin' tastes like raccoon stew.

Nothin'.

Must be off his feed a little bit.

Sam, what's the matter with you?

He's tellin' me all about...

bubblin' and...

Charlie. Yes, sir?

Did you catch another raccoon?

No, sir. Didn't. Nope.

Bill did.

You take that stuff out and bury it!

The raccoon? Bury it!

Yes, sir. Take it now!

You haven't tried it, though, have you?

Try? I'll try you! Yes, sir.

Dinner's almost ready, Sam.

We're making a lovely stew.

Please, no.

I, uh, I'm not too hungry.

Sam, don't go inside. I want to talk to you.

I have to go in and... lie down, dear.

But... But...

I just want to lie down.

Maybe you ought to write him a letter.

Maybe I'll have to.

Oh!

SAM: Ow!

Sam? Yeah, honey?

Look.

That's very pretty, honey.

It's a baby's sweater.

Yes, I see. It's very pretty.

Aren't you gonna ask me who it's for?

Honey, where does this double-tree hammer go?

Sam, don't you want to know who the baby sweater's for?

All I want to know right now

is where this double-tree hammer goes.

The baby sweater's for you!

The kingpin is there.

Queen pin. And...

For me?

Well, it's...

It's a little small for me, isn't it?

Oh, Sam! You're so dumb!

Honey, I'm sorry. I know I'm dumb.

But you don't have to cry about it.

I've been trying to tell you for weeks!

Tryin' to tell me what?

That you're gonna have a baby!

Oh, Melanie, look, men don't have ba...

Oh!

Baby? Ba...

Melanie, you mean that we're gonna have a baby?

Mm-hmm.

Oh, gosh!

Well, sit down. Sit down a minute.

I mean, I'll get you a pillow, or...

Shouldn't you be eating something special?

Oh, no, dear. Everyone on the train has been stuffing me.

Everybody on the train knew about it,

and you didn't tell me?

Well, I didn't have to tell anyone.

They just seemed to know.

Gosh, what a chowderhead I am.

When, Melanie?

I think September.

September, huh?

Wait a minute. That's no good.

We won't be in Sacramento by then.

That doesn't matter, Sam.

Oh, sure it does. I'm not gonna let you have a baby

on the wagon train.

Why not?

Well, honey...

if anything ever happened to you,

I just wouldn't know what to do.

Oh, you always said not to be afraid of life, Sam.

That was before I found out

about how many things in life there are to be afraid of.

I was always afraid until I married you.

Isn't life funny?

You married me, and now you're afraid.

And I'm not afraid of anything.

Melanie?

Honey, you asleep?

No. No, dear.

I was just thinking about our baby.

I hope she has...

I hope she has beautiful blue eyes, just like yours.

And that she has a beautiful smile like yours.

I hope she's beautiful, just like you are.

Sam, I'm going to have a son.

And she's gonna have a good education, too.

She'll go to grammar school,

to high school, and she'll have a good college education.

I'm going to have a son.

It's best to have a boy first.

Then one day she'll meet a fella... a nice fella...

And she'll get married,

and she'll have some children, too.

Then we'll be grandparents.

Hold it, Sam. You're going too fast.

Tell me... are the grandchildren

gonna be girls, too?

Heh! I'm afraid I can't tell that.

Melanie, would you mind very much

if we left the wagon train at Denver?

Why?

I'm not sure I want you to have the baby in a wagon.

Now, listen to me.

We met among the people on this train.

We began our life together with them.

I think it's appropriate and wonderful

that our child should be born among these friends.

Oh, Sam...

we won't leave the train in Denver, will we?

How can I say no to you, Melanie?

Good night. Good night.

SAM: I started west along with Aunt Em.

Now I had friends, a wife,

and a heart full of dreams.

I apologize to Horace Greeley

for the remarks made in an earlier chapter.

SAM: The long journey was almost behind us now.

We rode through a morning

laced with the spice of pine and cedar.

We craned our necks

to see the lofty tops of redwood trees

that looked down on man and up to God...

The oldest living things on earth...

Giants of the forest that were already old

when Christ was born.

I remember Melanie saying,

as we started down the shaggy sides of the mountain,

"Surely there had never been a more beautiful morning."

And then... In one shattering moment...

Disaster.

Hyah!

Sam?

Whoa!

Melanie!

Melanie!

Melanie! Hold it, Sam!

Let go of me! Melanie's down there!

Stay back here! You want to kill yourself!

Bill! Charlie! Bring some ropes up here!

Flint! Come on over here!

Back up a little bit. Give us room to work.

Bring up that team, will you?

I have to ask you to do something

that's not gonna be easy for you to do.

Anything, Major.

I want you to stay right here

while Flint and I go down there and see what the situation is.

But, Major, Melanie's my wife!

I... I want to be down there with her!

Sam, I understand exactly how you feel.

And this decision is gonna be entirely up to you.

But I wish you'd trust us to go down there

and see what we can do for Melanie.

You're right, Major.

Flint would be more help.

Thanks. I hoped you'd say that.

All right, make it fast.

One each wheel, boys.

You set, Flint? Yeah.

All right, let's go.

Take it out easy.

Watch those kinks.

Give it a little slack!

Easy. It won't take much to send it over.

Yeah, I see. Bill!

Send me down a couple of good, big ropes!

We gotta tie off this wagon!

Hey!

Melanie! Melanie!

HAWKS: Major!

All right, let 'em come! Send 'em down!

All right, take me up!

Easy.

All right, Bill, tell him to let this line go!

Turn it loose!

Come, tie this up.

See if you can get enough slack.

All right, give me some slack!

Give me some more.

Hold me tight!

Flint! Are you holdin' fast over there?

Yeah!

MAJOR: Get over here and tie this other rope off!

Tie it off on the other one there, Flint!

MAJOR: All right, get ready to let me down slow!

Easy!

All right, hold it right there!

Let me take a look.

Hang on, now!

Is she alive?

Yeah, she's breathin'.

She's alive.

We're gonna have to get her out of this wagon, Flint.

Get her up on top.

Maybe I can carry her.

Hold on a minute.

I don't want to take a chance on takin' her up that way.

We're gonna have to get a litter.

Take me up! Easy!

All right, hold it!

Sam!

Here, take the rope.

Yes, sir?!

Melanie's still alive!

She's hurt, but she's still alive!

FLINT: Hawks! Send us down a litter!

Hurry up about it!

You all set there, Flint?

Yeah, I'm secure here.

Take up your slack on my rope!

Pull up on mine!

Now, pull all of us up together!

All right, take it away! Real easy, now!

You got it? Yeah.

Slowly!

Hold it! Hold it!

Hold it, hold it.

All right, Major?!

You all right, Major?

Pull her that way, if you can.

Pull it.

All right, now!

All right, come on.

Is she all right? Huh?

Is he all right?

Melanie! Ohh!

She ain't gonna die, is she, Major?

I don't think so.

Ohh! Aunt Em!

Major, we gotta get her into a wagon.

Billy, give me a hand here!

Major, will you call one of the women?

I'll need help.

Aunt Em, this is not the first baby

I've helped into the world.

Baby? But... Easy, Sam.

But it's not time yet!

God tells you when it's time.

Here.

Thanks.

You know, I feel so...

completely helpless sittin' around like this.

I know.

You know? How could you know?

You've never been through this before.

Just about 100 times, that's all. What?

Yeah, if I'm around every time there's a baby due,

I pace the campfire with the expectant father.

Oh, yeah. I understand you.

You keep us in a corner,

somewhere out of the way from everybody.

Hey. What's that? Hot water.

What for? Major wants it.

Can I help you with it? No, no, I got it.

"No, no, I got it." See? I can't even help with hot water.

The Major's pretty edgy at a time like this.

You don't want to do anything to upset him.

I don't want to upset him. I just want to know what's going on.

Hey, what's that?

Cold water. For what?

The Major wants to have it hangin'.

Can I help you with it?

No, he wants you to stay out here.

Look, it's my baby!

Not till he turns it over to you, it isn't.

You know, my life is in that wagon...

My wife and my baby.

Flint, I just can't stand around out here and do nothin'.

Nothin' to do, Sam.

You know, Sacramento is a good town to start a paper in.

It's growin' every day.

You planning on a weekly?

Huh? Hmm?

I said, are you planning on a weekly?

Oh, yes. A monthly would be safer,

but you can't get the news as fresh that way,

so we're gonna try something new.

I think Sacramento can support a weekly.

Sit down.

The baby's dead.

The baby was born dead.

Aunt Em, you just shut up and look after Melanie.

Melanie.

Melanie.

Melanie.

MAJOR: Sam!

Yes, Major!

Sam, where in the devil are you?!

I'm right here!

Steady, boy. You've got a son!

Is he all right, Major?

You bet he's all right! Come on in and see for yourself!

He's all right! You hear that, Flint?

I got a boy! And he's all right!

I got a boy!

Melanie!

Melanie... are you all right?

Oh, Sam.

I'm sorry.

Sorry?

What are you sorry about, honey?

You wanted a girl.

Oh, that doesn't make any difference.

Just as long as you're all right.

It's best to start with a boy.

Oh, best to start with a boy.

Looks like you...

Looks like you just about called it, too, didn't you?

MAJOR: Sam?

Take a look at the most beautiful boy

I ever helped into the world in my life.

Oh, look at him.

Look at him there.

Has he got all his fingers and toes?

Don't worry, Sam. He's a perfectly normal boy.

He is, huh? I just wondered...

Him comin' early and all.

Sam, that little fella was in a hurry to get here.

You gotta admire a little boy with an attitude like that.

Yeah.

Here, look at him, Melanie.

Sam, he's beautiful.

He looks just like you.

Oh, no, he doesn't.

Does he?

What are you gonna call him?

I think we'll call him...

Seth.

Uh, ma'am, you take care of things.

I got... I got work to do.

Hyah! Whoa!

SAM: Well, there she is, Melanie.

The Pacific Ocean.

Oh, Sam.

How wonderful to see it at last.

Yeah, a new land.

A place to send down roots and to grow.

For us...

and for him.

Hyah!

SAM: And so the miles roll out

to the shores of the western ocean,

and the long trip ends,

and we who made that journey

file away the memories of laughter,

tears and prayers...

Of the times of challenge and times of peace.

Much will fade mercifully from recollection.

But the strong countenances of friends

will endure.

Charlie, who can always cook his own goose.

As well as anyone else's.

Bill... a strong arm and a steadfast heart.

Flint McCullough... Wilderness scout,

adventurer, wanderer.

And the man who puts his dream on wheels every year

and takes it west,

and every year helps pull this vast, sprawling country

a little closer together.

Wagons... ho!

His voice rang out in the morning

like a bugle call and a drum roll.

And we followed that voice from Kansas

to the end of the trail.