All language subtitles for Centennial 03 The Wagon and the Elephant.eng

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NARRATOR: Centennial,
when it was founded, would stand at a spot

where a man
could look eastward

and catch the full power
of the prairie,

or westward
to see the Rockies.

The history of the town
born in this area

would be a record
of the way men made the demands of the mountains

meet the needs of the prairie.

Many would destroy themselves
in that conflict,

but those who survived would
attain a largeness of soul

that other men
who chose easier paths would never discover.

In 1795, a young fugitive
from Scotland

had come west to trap beaver.

(INAUDIBLE)

His name was Alexander McKeag,

and he was to become a legend
in his own time.

A man who lived
among the Indians,

who learned their language
and their ways.

He had come seeking solitude,
but he found friendship

and love.

He had lived a life
of unparalleled freedom

as he explored
an uncharted continent.

He had witnessed
the passing of great men

from a golden age
that would never come again,

(BAGPIPE PLAYING)

and shared
these plains and mountains

with men whose passion
for life

he did not expect
to find again.

Other men
were coming west now,

men from
different backgrounds, different beliefs.

Like the old mountain man
McKeag,

they were strong men,
stubborn men.

They, too, were men
of destiny and vision.

But they saw little
in the windy, water-shy stretch of plains to stop for

on their trek to a new place
called Oregon.

For them, this was only
a land to be crossed.

And the crossing was hard.

Some couldn't make it.
Some didn't.

But they kept coming.

If hell lay to the west,
it was said Americans would cross heaven to get there.

Alexander McKeag
was certain these proud, determined pioneers

were doing just that.

For him, the land
just south of where

the wagon wheels carved
a trail to the Pacific was paradise.

In the year 1845, however,

it was another part
of this country that men valued most.

At the eastern foothills
of the Appalachians,

the small city of Lancaster
in southeastern Pennsylvania

claimed some of the most
fertile farmland in the world,

and some of the most
fortunate farmers.

And one of these men
who gave thanks daily

for his home
and the life it afforded

was a young Mennonite
named Levi Zendt.

And although he could not
know it at the time,

Levi Zendt was destined to
leave this rich land he loved

and share the dream
of Alexander McKeag.

A dream that would give birth
to the town of Centennial.

(ALL SHOUTING)

Look! Amos Boemer
lost his bells.

Whoa, whoa there.

MAN: How'd you lose
your bells, Amos?

Damned left wheel
worked loose.

Hit a ditch
east of Coatesville.

You getting another set,
Amos?

That I ain't.

MAN: You quitting?

BOEMER: That I am.

(BOEMER SPEAKING GERMAN)

Anybody
who wants this

(CURSING IN GERMAN)
accursed Jew's

car can have it.

I don't want to see
the bulldong thing ever again.

Excuse me.

What did you mean
about losing his bells?

You don't know about
a man's bells?

No.

Well, maybe you should
come inside and let me tell you all about them.

(LAUGHING) Off with you.

It's a code of honor, son.

Any teamster that
needs help from another gives him his set of bells.

Oh.

It's not an easy thing to do.

When a man drives down
Hell Street without his bells,

he's telling the world
he couldn't make it alone.

And making it alone,
well, that's what life on the road is all about.

I know how old Amos
feels today,

but he shouldn't give up
too easy on that Conestoga like he said.

The man that built it
knew a saw from an ax.

(BELL TOLLING)

Oh, no. The Reverend.

(CLEARS THROAT)

(SIGHING)

Mother.

Reverend.
Mrs. Fenstermacher.

I'm sorry I'm late.

You haven't started?

No.

Oh.

You knew
the Reverend and his wife were joining us today.

Of course. It's Sunday.
They come every...

I mean, I hoped that
you'd be joining us again, Reverend,

and I'm truly sorry
that I was late.

But you see,
Amos Boemer lost his bells.

Levi.

No, that's what happens
when a teamster breaks down

and he has to accept help
from another teamster.

He has to give up
the brass bells from his own wagon.

And it must be
a humiliating thing,

because old Amos Boemer
sure cursed something awful.

I have never heard cursing
like that before.

Perhaps you could
ask the blessing, Levi.

Yes, Mother.

Lord, we thank Thee
for Thy bounty

and we pray that we are
worthy of it. Amen.

And, dear Lord,
hear our prayer

for young brother Levi Zendt

who has spent
too many afternoons

on an avenue of sin
most aptly named Hell Street,

consorting in taverns and
making acquaintances with men

who speak with the tongue
of the devil himself.

Guide him to halt
this infamous behavior

and direct him to attend
to his proper obligations.

Amen.

ALL: Amen.

Levi. Amos Boemer
is a blasphemous man.

It's little wonder
he was struck down.

It was God's will.

It was the left rear wheel.

Levi.

Collect the scraps.

I already have.

Then get them
to the orphanage. With no lingering.

I'll not have you
hanging about Hell Street disgracing us anymore.

Whatever makes you happy,
Mahlon.

Levi!

Papa sent some bread.

Oh, thank you.

REBECCA: I'll ride with you
if you want.

Sure.

He's coming.

Who is?

Don't you play dumb
with me, Elly Zahm.

You know who comes
every Friday.

And I know
who you're in love with.

Laura Lou Booker,
you mind your tongue.

You'd better mind
how you look if you want him to notice you.

KRUGER: Elly Zahm!

I'm coming!

Oh, Laura Lou, help me.

(SIGHING)

This is silly.
He'll never see me.

Men only notice pretty women
with kissable cheeks like you.

Pretty isn't everything.

Elly!
Come when I call.

A rich man like Levi Zendt
can't be kept waiting by the likes of you.

Yes, Miss Kruger.

And you, finish up that wash.
It will be time for supper soon.

Yes, Miss Kruger.

Hello, Levi.

Elly.

I'll take that.

Oh, it's
pretty heavy this time.

Let her take it, Mr. Zendt.

Thank you anyway.

(CHUCKLING) You're strong.

Levi.

Oh.

KRUGER: Thank you,
Miss Stoltzfus.

Just put it on top,
Mr. Zendt.

It's all right. Really.

See you next week.

Thank you, Mr. Zendt.
The Lord will bless you and your brothers.

You're welcome, Miss Kruger.

What?

Nothing.
I'll get you home.

Well, there's no hurry.

What do you think
Mahlon thinks about us being together?

Mahlon?

I mean, do you ever
talk to him about me?

About liking me?
Talk about you? No.

Well, you do like me,
don't you?

Like you?

(STAMMERING)
Oh, Rebecca, I think...

I mean, I... I just...

I mean...
Kiss me.

What?
Kiss me.

(LAUGHING NERVOUSLY)
Rebecca...

Oh, Elly.

It's all right.

Elly, he will
notice you someday. He will. And then...

He noticed me just now.

He did?
What did he say?

He said I was strong.

Oh!

Levi.
Oh, Rebecca, I've wanted to tell you

I've thought about you
so much

that whenever it's market day,
I can't sleep for thinking about you.

I get this feeling inside
and I just...

What is it?
Let go of me.

What?
Let go!

(SCREAMING)

Rebecca...

Let her be!

Tearing the clothes right
off the child, you beast!

(CRYING) Keep him
away from me. Keep him away.

He tried to...

(EXCLAIMING)

Levi, you son of Satan.

You pig!

Child of the devil!

I did nothing evil.

Everyone in Lancaster
is talking about it.

You haven't been to Lancaster,
any of you.

I saw you working and I saw
Reverend Fenstermacher come to tell you.

He's gone mad.
I haven't, and I haven't done anything wrong!

Didn't you know?

Know what?

Mahlon was going to speak
to the Stoltzfus girl himself.

The Stoltzfus acres
will be left to her,

and our farm can be
twice as large.

Mahlon, I didn't know.

But she did.

And that's why she went
with me to the orphanage.

To make you jealous.

Of course. She even asked me
how you felt about her being with me.

And that's why she did
what she did.

What she did?

Yes, she tempted me.

I'll not have you lay
the blame on her for something you tried to do.

Not for rape.
What?

The reverend told me
you tried to rape her.

Mahlon, I...
Before Miss Kruger,

the blessed woman
who gives her life to that home.

Before the children.
Before the eyes of God himself!

Mahlon, you can't
believe that. You can't...

You've disgraced
this family, Levi.

You can never work
at the market again. Is that clear?

You'll stay home
and tend to your duties

and come to market
only to clean up.

Then I won't
come back at all!

You'll do as you're told,
and make a public apology.

No.

It's the only way this family
can redeem itself.

You'll apologize
to Peter Stoltzfus and to the Stoltzfus girl

and to the whole market!

And you will be shunned.

No, I won't be shunned! No!

Amos Boemer.

You still want to sell
that Conestoga?

Sell that fly bait?
I'll give it away.

How much?

You know, that once was
a very proud wagon.

How much?

It was built
by Samuel Mummert. That was Paradise, 1818.

Cost $200.

I'll give you 10.

$10 for a great wagon
like that?

It's all that I have.

It hasn't got a single
broken board, you know.

Tool box, wheel axle's good.

Lazyboard rides good.

$20, and you can
take the bulldong thing all the way to Philadelphia.

I'll give you 10 now
and 10 when I pick it up.

Something you should know.
What's that?

It ain't got no bells.

Where I'm going,
I don't need any bells.

KRUGER: Elly Zahm!

I suppose you're safe enough
with him.

Leave that one for me.

No, I've got it.

Miss Kruger says
they're shunning you.

That they are.

I'm not a Mennonite.
What does this mean, shunning?

That I may not buy or sell,
or give or take.

I can converse
with no man nor woman.

I cannot attend church
nor speak with anyone who does.

Is that all?

If that's shunning,
they've been shunning me all my life.

Why?

Because I'm a bastard.

That's not your fault.

What happened here last Friday
wasn't your fault, either.

How do you know that?

How do you know?

I just do.
You wouldn't be that way.

No one knows for sure
what another person will do or won't do.

I know about you.

And my friend Laura Lou Booker
saw everything through that window.

She tried to tell Miss Kruger
about it, but...

Miss Kruger saw it, too.
The way she wanted to see it.

That's the way
with most people around here.

You ever think of leaving?

Only every day.

Me, too.

You aren't, are you?

Did you ever hear of
a place called Oregon?

Oregon? That's in the west.

All the way
to the Pacific Ocean.

How'd you know that?

I read about it.

I guess I know
I'll never go anywhere, so I read about everywhere,

everything I can.

But Oregon? There are hardly
even any people there yet.

Just savages.
Which is what people seem to think I am.

So I figured maybe that's
a good place for me to be.

But...

What?

Nothing.

It must be
a wondrous place to see.

I hope maybe someday
I can go somewhere like it, too.

(SIGHS)

Elly, are they hard
on you here?

I'm strong, remember?

(DOOR OPENS)

Elly, see to what
this sinner's good family brought us.

I want no waste around here.

Yes, Miss Kruger.

(DOOR SLAMS)

There's milk on the table.

Where's Mahlon?

Asleep.
Like I told him you were.

Mother...
Sit.

You won't forget to eat well
when you get there, will you?

Get where?

Wherever it is you're going
with that weapon.

Mother, I...

I don't want to know.

I don't want a lie.

I loved it here.

I loved it so much.

I know.

Is it wrong for me to leave?

Even as a little boy,
you were the restless one.

You...

You always wanted to know why.

And you weren't satisfied
till you found out.

This shunning,

you know, deep down,
it isn't because of the Stoltzfus girl.

It's because
you're too independent

and too deep-feeling
to suit the people here.

They see it in you,

and it's a reminder
of something they'd rather forget.

You're a fine man, Levi Zendt,

and I'm proud of you.

When will you go?

Soon.

Do it now. Tonight.

I need horses.

Take the six grays.
They're the best.

But they're Mahlon's.

They're yours.

And wherever you go, Levi,

whatever you do,

you always take the best.

Only the best.

(ROOSTER CROWING)

LEVI: Elly!

Elly Zahm!

Whoa!

Get your things.

Hurry up.

What's going on down there?

It's the day of judgment,
Miss Kruger.

And you're looking at
the devil himself.

(LAUGHS)

Elly Zahm, the sun is rising!

KRUGER: Elly Zahm!
You come back here.

Do you hear me?
You come back here.

I'm never coming back.

Elly Zahm, I forbid you!

You hold it right there,
Miss Kruger!

This is a Lancaster rifle.

It shoots straighter
than the road to hell

and makes a hole
twice as broad.

(EXCLAIMS)

Levi,
you wouldn't shoot her?

Oh, not without
reloading first.

(CHUCKLES) And that still
takes the fastest man almost a full minute.

Giddyup!

Elly, Elly.

Laura Lou Booker,
you come back here. You're as bad as she is!

Levi, stop.
Whoa!

Here, take this.

Laura Lou, no.

No, take it. A wife
has to have a little money of her own. Take it.

You're escaping
for all of us, Elly.

KRUGER: Laura Lou.

For all of us.

Get up.

Will you be
wanting a preacher?

Yes.

I want no bastards.

ELLY: Dear Laura Lou,
I'm writing to you from our camp on the Ohio River.

We are just outside
Pittsburgh.

Can you imagine me
ever going so far?

And yet,
how far we have to go.

When we crossed
the Alleghenies,

we thought we had climbed
halfway to heaven,

and they are only 3,000 feet.

The Rockies before us
are 14,000.

Levi and I can't believe
it's possible to get over them,

but if anyone can do it,
he can.

He's a fine man, Laura Lou.
And a good husband.

Yes, we're married.

And, so you'll know,
Miss Kruger didn't tell us everything.

Probably because
she didn't know herself.

But we were right
when we spent all those hours wondering.

Men really aren't that much
different from horses.

And how Levi loves his horses.

I hope he never has to choose
between them and me.

But then, they can't give him
everything I can.

No, not yet. But I'm hoping.

And hoping it's a girl
so she can know through her father

how tender
a strong man can be.

I don't know how to thank you
for your gift.

But I will share
this adventure with you every step of the way,

and pray that someday
we may read this record to our grandchildren together.

My love forever. Elly Zendt.

(METAL CLANGING)

Why didn't Amos Boemer
get it fixed like this?

I didn't say she'd be fixed.
Said the rim would bond.

What's the difference?

Well, you got a lot of parts
in that wheel,

and all of them's figuring out
how to wreck on you later on.

It's funny, them other ones
are as good as a man sees,

but this one's
just a poor wheel.

Will it make 3,000 miles?

I can't say. It's a creeper.

You watch it good.

Wet the wood
every chance you get.

Whenever you get to a smithy,

you have him
take a look at it.

(METAL CLANGING)

LEVI: Whoa. Get up.

Get up there.

Whoa.

What do you think?

We take the wagon
down into that?

You got a better idea,
I'll listen.

The horses can make it.

No, stay in the wagon.

I can't help from here.

I'll guide the lead team
while you work the lines.

It's pretty slippery.
The horses might get scared.

You trying to scare me, too?
It won't work.

(NICKERING)

All right. Let's go!

(NEIGHING)

Whoa!

Elly!

You all right?

Quit hollering
and keep driving!

What are you grinning at?

Just thinking how glad I am
that you're here with me.

There'll be
plenty more rivers.

We'll learn to do it better.

(CHUCKLES)

Hey. Giddyup.

ELLY: Dear Laura Lou,
rivers have begun to play an important part in our life,

from the one I fell into
to the one our flatboat drifts down now.

It is the Ohio,
and we will be on it for 1, 100 miles

until we arrive
at a place called Cairo.

Then we'll board
a steamer for St. Louis on the mighty Mississippi.

I can't believe
it's almost summer.

But then, I never believed
I'd be doing anything like this.

I feel important somehow,

as if God Intended me
for some significant duty.

I have no idea
what it might be,

but the future
is full of promise,

and I know there is
so much to come.

(BOYS CHATTERING)

ANNOUNCER: See the elephant.
Don't delay, come today.

Next month we ship
this powerful pachyderm back to Europe.

Don't be one of those
who must shamefacedly confess to their grandchildren...

Whoa. Whoa.

Which way to the
Robert Q. Fell?

ANNOUNCER: See it here.
See the elephant!

(SHIP WHISTLE BLOWING)

LEVI: Whoa!

That?

It appears to be.

Disgraceful old tub,
isn't she?

You going to the forts?
Oregon.

Well met!
I'm for Oregon, too.

Seccombe, Oliver Seccombe.
Boston, London, Oxford.

Levi Zendt, Pennsylvania.

Delighted, old boy.
Delighted. And this is...

My wife.

How do you do, Mrs. Zendt?

Oh, it's Elly,
Mr. Seccombe.

Elly. Enchanted.

I'll go find the captain.

His name is Frake,
but you'll not find him aboard.

He'll be in the tavern
down the way.

Heavy drinkers,
these riverboat men,

but they can navigate narrows
you and I couldn't even swim.

Oh, Elly,
let me give you a hand.

When Levi's got
the wagon aboard,

we can all go and see
the sights of the town together. Hmm?

Yes, ladies and gentlemen,

this massive mastodon
ate a ton of hay each and every day.

Each mighty tusk
was 22-feet long.

The mother carried the baby
in her womb...

His tusk was that big.

...for four years,
seven months and 19 days. It gave me the shivers.

I've never seen
anything that big.

See the elephant!
Don't delay, come today.

It's a big city.

Gateway to the west,
they call it.

The last culture before
you get to California.

Apart from the Red Indian,
that is.

And nobody knows
very much about them.

That's part of the reason
I'm here, you know.

I'm writing a book
on the subject.

You're writing a book?

Mmm. Travels in the Great
American West.

Have you ever read Rousseau,
by any chance?

Rousseau?
Mmm-hmm.

What is it?
Well, he's a Frenchman.

A philosopher.
Hmm.

A what?

Oh, a thinker.
Mostly about nature.

Precisely.
Now, he had a theory

that there is still a pure,
unspoiled, primitive man that's still in existence.

Well, I intend to find him
and describe him before he vanishes.

The noble savage.
Oh, excuse me.

I say, Captain!
Captain Mercy, sir. Good day.

Seccombe, isn't it?
Yes, sir. Oliver Seccombe.

These are my friends,
Levi and Elly Zendt from Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Mercy?

Yes, my wife, Lisette.

How do you do?
I'm very pleased to meet you.

The Captain will be
sailing with us.

And you, too, Mrs. Mercy?

No.

Mr. Zendt, was that your wagon
with the six upper handsome grays I saw?

Yes.

You'll forgive me, sir,
but I...

I urge you to sell that team.

Why?

They'll die where we're going.

What?

Horses can't make that trip.

Well, they've come this far.

You had grain for them.
You'll have none on the plains.

I heard the plains
were grassy.

You're getting a late start.
Most of the grass will be gone.

You have to rest your animals,

and you can't do that
and get there in time to graze.

I love those horses.

I can understand that,
they're fine animals.

But you can't afford
to wait on them.

And if you don't,
they'll drop dead of sheer exhaustion.

On the other hand,
this is good country for prime horseflesh.

You could expect four,
maybe $500 apiece.

I won't sell them.

Well, then I wish you luck.
You will need it. Good day.

Excuse me, sir, I believe
you've just been awarded a prize commission.

You overrate me,
Mr. Seccombe.

I'm going west to select
a site for a new fort

with a grand detachment
of two.

Myself, Sergeant Lykes
and eight mules.

Nine mules.
I've tried to talk him out of going.

You know,
I think it'd be easier trying to talk to a mule.

Then you can understand why
Levi won't sell his horses.

Yes, I think I can.

Look, I wonder,
might it be possible

that we could join you
and the sergeant when we land?

Well, I'm only going as far as
St. John on the Laramie.

It would help
to get us started.

Then we can see
what kind of outfit

we could put together
up there.

Well, I'd be glad for the
company if you don't mind traveling with nine mules.

Ten. And six horses.

Shall we?

(SHIP WHISTLE BLOWING)

(MULE BRAYING)

Morning.
Good morning.

Hannibal, I'm gonna
give you a count of three. You hear me? Three.

Trouble, Sergeant?

He's just being a mule,
mister, that's all.

Come on up there.
Right there.

Good morning.

This is Mr. Sam Purchas.
He calls himself "King of the Mountain Men."

I've hired him
to lead us to Oregon.

Mr. Purchas, Maxwell Mercy.

Captain.

You ever been to Oregon?

Sonny, I been
across them prairies with all the great ones.

Kit Carson, Sublette,
Fitzpatrick, the Bents, I knowed 'em all.

My question was,
have you been to Oregon?

Well, one thing
they taught me,

(SPITTING)

never try to reach Oregon with
no horses dragging your wagon. Are you Zendt?

I am.

Sonny, this here mountain man
don't travel with no horses.

You sell 'em and get oxen.

Like I told Major Mercy...

Now, I reckon the Captain here
would like to hear just what it is you're buying.

Pretty lady,
would you be good enough to read this out loud,

so as we can all
hear it together?

It's from The Dispatch.

(MULE BRAYING)

"Strong as a lion,
fearless as a tiger..."

Would you mind
speaking up, miss?

It's kinda hard to hear
over that mule and all.

"Keen-eyed as an eagle
and quick..."

(PURCHAS CLEARING THROAT)

"...as a panther,
Samuel Purchas,

"greatest of the mountain men
and frontiersman extraordinary,

"departed our city
on Thursday last week,

"leading a party of merchants
on an exploratory trip to the forts of the Upper Missouri."

There's a whole lot more,
but that tells you who I am, don't it?

Mr. Purchas, exactly what
will be your service to us?

Keeping you alive, sonny,
that's what.

Timing. That's the trick.
I know it, you don't.

You move out of here too soon,
your oxen starve in Kansas.

Too late, and you'll freeze
to death in the Oregon snow.

I want every man
to carry two rifles,

two pistols, an ax,
two knives, a penknife,

a hatchet and
20 pounds of lead.

That's enough to fight
your way inch by inch.

Soldier boy, that's exactly
what we may have to do.

No, the officers at
Fort Leavenworth assured me

the Cheyenne and the Arapaho
were peaceful this year.

Did they tell you
about the Oglala Sioux, the Crow, the Blackfoot

and the Gros Ventres?

Them's the people we're
going to be dealing with.

The Pasquinel brothers
are riding with the Sioux this year.

Pasquinels? Who are they?

Half-breeds.

French trapper
name of Pasquinel took himself a squaw.

Now we got his redskinned
sons along the trail to keep us company.

You ever seen them?

Came down the river in 1839
with three bales of buffalo robes.

They led a party of Cheyenne
that cleaned me out.

I'm surprised
they didn't kill you.

Sometimes they do
and sometimes they don't.

If I ever see 'em again,
they won't have the option.

All the same,
the armament seems too heavy.

Sonny, I been with 'em all.

And one thing they taught me,
carry plenty of guns.

Me, I travel with
four rifles, two pistols and this little beauty.

Without reloading,
I can kill six of anything that moves.

(MULE BRAYS)

And if it was me, I'd start
with that critter over there.

I wonder what
it'll really be like.

What?

Oregon.

Oliver says
everything grows there.

Oliver says a lot.

Levi Zendt,
you jealous?

Just thinking.

Meeting new people
makes you look at yourself.

Elly, are you sorry that you
married such a plain man?

(LAUGHING)

What's funny?

Laura Lou Booker, she
used to look over every man that came to the orphanage.

Make lists of their good
and bad qualities.

"Is clean, listens well.

"Eats with good manners.
Knows how to laugh."

Or, "Too thin, too nervous.

"Wants to peek at the girls,
but is afraid to."

What'd she say about me?

Well I'm not sure
I remember... Elly!

(GIGGLES)

She said... She said,

"He's very well-built,
dependable and strong."

(LAUGHS) Sounds like a horse.

(GIGGLES)

"He's shy,
but not crooked."

I'm not as shy as I was.

I know.

(SHIP WHISTLE BLOWING)

That's right,
get 'em out of here.

Levi, get up. Levi,
they're taking your horses.

Deal's all set, sonny.
You got $500 apiece.

You got eight
of the best oxen, $15 each.

That gives you the best,
about $2,900 profit,

and my commission
is only $50.

No. You can't do that!
It's done.

You...

(PURCHAS LAUGHING)

Cool out, sonny.
I'm doing you a service.

Get 'em out of here.

You want to tangle,
sonny boy, I'm game.

But I'm telling you,
it's the only way.

You take this money now
or you'll have six dead horses

by the time
you get to the Platte.

He's right.
They'll never make it, Levi.

Trust me.

You're both taking horses.
So is Seccombe.

We ain't pulling wagons.

Take it.
It'll build a fine home for you and Elly in Oregon.

They've served you well,
Levi.

Now they'll buy you
a better start

than most men on the trail
can even hope for.

Levi!

Go! Go!

Now we really are alone.

Now we can never go back.

I heared what you
was thinking, sonny boy.

But I'm telling you,
when we hit the Rockies,

we're gonna pass them
horse-people like they was staked to the ground.

Look.

Pawnee.

ELLY: What do they want?

(RIFLE FIRES)

MERCY: Purchas!

What the hell do you think
you're doing?

Good gun.
A Fordney, ain't it?

Damn it, man,
I asked you a question.

I'm doing my job.

Well, they
hadn't done anything.

They was Injuns.

How could you
do that, Sam?

I been fighting Injuns
all my life.

They gave me this,
and one on my stomach,

and this.

I tell you, they ain't
real people like you and me, soldier boy.

They're no good.

Yes, sir.
That's a real good gun.

Now you know what it's for.

ELLY: I think
we have finally realized what moving west means.

The strange rivers
flowing swift with mud,

the lurking Indians,
the burden of rifles,

the long, long trails
with no homes and no lights at dusk,

and the awful loneliness.

We have each other, of course,
and thank God for that.

We've seen what can happen
to men who have no one.

But what a story
we'll have to tell

when we reach Oregon,
Laura Lou.

This is no ordinary trip,
for we move within a great dimension.

But Levi says
the desert we cross

is untillable, unprofitable,
and unneeded.

We are deep
in Indian country now,

and have joined up
with two other families,

because Mr. Purchas says
we need at least three wagons for defense

and to stand
the night watches.

(WIND WHISTLING)

Morning.

Windy.

That's just the elephant
flicking his tail.

The elephant?

You don't know
about the elephant?

The one in St. Louis?

St. Louis?

You mean the circus?

(CHUCKLING) No, that was
just a bunch of bones standing in a room.

Take a look out there.

Ain't that a home for a real
giant of an elephant, huh?

Yes, sir. Why, he's taller
than most trees.

He's got tusks that curve back
just like Turkish swords.

His trunk blows
just like a hurricane,

and his tail will flick
a wagon bigger than yours right off the trail.

(CHUCKLING)

A man can't believe
everything he hears, Sergeant.

Oliver says there hasn't been
an elephant on this continent for 10,000 years.

Oliver said that, huh?
Old fancy pants.

Well, that's for sure
that Oliver has never seen

the kind of elephant
that I'm talking about.

'Cause if he had,
he'd have hightailed it back to London so fast

his feet never would have
touched the ground.

You trying to tell me
you've seen it?

Seen it?

I'm trying to tell you
that any man

that's been alone out there
on that prairie has seen it.

Now, don't let 'em
tell you any different, Levi,

'cause you're gonna see it
one of these days, too.

And when you do see it,

you're gonna run
as far as you can as fast as you can,

because you know you...
You can't fight it.

Because you know
if you don't get out of its way,

it's gonna crush you flat,

and grind you down so deep
in this Godforsaken land

that no amount
of prayers in heaven will ever resurrect your soul.

Gonna turn in now,
gonna be daylight soon.

Thank you for the story.

See you in the morning.

(BIRD CALL)

(DIFFERENT BIRD CALL)

Indians!

Pasquinels.

How do you know?

They're riding
the Oglala Sioux.

He's bringing a whole
bunch of 'em in here.

Hello! Bacon?

Jake Pasquinel.

You're welcome,
we do have bacon.

Mike Pasquinel,
you, too. Come.

Jake Pasquinel,
I've heard a lot about you.

How you know my name?

This finger, you lost
in the Kiowa fight.

That scar on your cheek,
at Fort Osage.

How are you, Jake?

What your name?

Maxwell Mercy,
Captain, United States Army.

You come to fight, huh?

No, to establish a fort.

Where?

Come, we smoke.

No, where the fort
going to be?

That's why I'm here,
to pick the spot.

You and Mike be my guides,
we'll make the decision together.

No.

Why not?

Our father was white.

If we were to help guide you,
our Sioux brothers, they say,

"Pasquinel is traitor."

Then come to Fort John.
Bring the Sioux chiefs, the Cheyenne, and the Arapaho.

We can't say they will come.

Well, Jake, you're an Arapaho.

How you know I'm Arapaho?

In St. Louis,
everyone knows you.

They believe you're the man
to bring peace to the prairie.

You talk of peace,
you take our land.

No. One road, one road west.

This land will be yours
as long as the grass grows and the eagle flies.

Hmm.

We come to Fort John.

The day must come
when the killing stops, eh?

I wouldn't trust you
to stop killing rabbits.

We get you yet,
squaw killer.

I'll wait at Fort John.

I say, you wanted bacon?
And some tobacco, perhaps?

Another time, huh?
Another time.

Then tell me, if our watchman
hadn't heard you,

would you have slain us all?

You got good guards.

We'll keep 'em posted.

(GUN FIRES)

He did not have to stop you,
squaw killer.

Shooting at a man,
you'd have missed.

(SPITS)

Nobody spits at...
Purchas!

Forget it,
or by God, your last scar won't come from an Indian.

(PURCHAS YELLS ANGRILY)

Mr. Seccombe,

when we get to the fort,
I'd pick another pilot if I were you.

That man will
get you all killed.

I will.

Be with you in a moment.

Afternoon.
Hello.

I'm Levi Zendt
from Lancaster.

Alexander McKeag, Scotland.

I'll be needing
a lot of your stuff.

Well, it's here
waiting for you.

Well, this is my wife, Elly.

Let her have
whatever she needs.

This is my wife, Clay Basket.
My daughter, Lucinda.

Arapaho.

Daughter and granddaughter
of the greatest warrior

in the history
of their nation.

McKeag.

But I still maintain
they are a race of savages.

But that is the myth
that I'm going to explode.

You see, I believe that
the original Indians were Welshmen.

The very cream,
the best of Welsh society

that migrated here
early on in history to find a more natural way of life.

PURCHAS: They ain't
Welshmen, sonny boy!

They're Egyptian.

Egyptians?

Who do you think
that old pharaoh had

roughing up Moses
and the Israelites?

Injuns, that's who!

God sent 'em out here
as a punishment,

and it's our bounding duty
to punish 'em.

I never heard anything
like that before, did you?

That's because you don't talk
to nothing but mules.

Never mind
about my mules... Lykes.

Yes, sir?

Find the Zendts, tell them
that the proprietor, Mr. Kellen,

wants them
to join him for dinner. He's from Pennsylvania, too.

Yes, sir.

That was McKeag.

McKeag?

He runs the store.

Never mind, Sergeant.

Yes, sir.

Now, Sergeant,
you was about to say?

I think I'd rather do
my talking to the mules.

Trapping, huh?

Till they stop
making beaver hats.

And that was
just south of here?

Aye, a place called
Beaver Creek.

Superb country.
Good water, trees.

All a man could ask for.

The Army captain we came with
said there was nothing to the south but desert.

You encourage him
to keep saying that. It'll keep the bad ones out.

Why didn't you
stay down there?

Well, I had a partner.
He died.

I couldn't find anyone
to go it with me after that.

And, well,
a man must get his living.

(KNOCKING AT DOOR)

Captain.

Clay Basket?

Yes?

Lucinda. And you're McKeag.

Aye.

It's an honor, sir.

Should I know you, Captain?

No, sir, but you...

You do know my wife,

Lisette Pasquinel.

Your partner's
St. Louis daughter.

PURCHAS: Well, pilgrims,
you'll see some country now.

And you'll see why you had
to sell them grays of yours.

Did you get that
wagon wheel reset?

I did.
That's good.

Them big-busted
ladies up ahead will give it a workout.

Sam!

Oh, sorry, missy.

(CHUCKLES) Hey, is that
a new bonnet you're wearing?

Yes.

I thought so. It frames
that pretty face real nice.

SECCOMBE: Sorry, old boy,
I really am.

I mean, there just wasn't
another pilot at the fort,

and unfortunately,
we are what he calls us.

We're pilgrims.

I wish Captain Mercy
was with us.

He has his job,
and we have ours.

Indians! Indians!

Pasquinels bringing in a party
of Arapaho and Cheyenne!

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

(BELL RINGING)

Well, they're no Sioux.
You'll still have your hands full anyway, Mercy.

They brought Broken Thumb.

Broken Thumb?

Yeah, Cheyenne,
just to the right of Jake Pasquinel.

He got his hand mangled
in a mountain man's beaver trap.

He's a bad one, and a real
disruptive influence on all the tribes.

It is a bitter burden
he carries, Mr. Kellen.

You see, he understands
all too well

what's happening
to his people in this time of change.

Just whose side you on,
McKeag?

I thought the idea was
to keep everybody on the same side.

Well, you'll want
to meet 'em down there.

They won't think much of you
spying on 'em with that thing

from up here behind a wall.

Oh, and don't forget
to smoke before you parley.

Hello, McKeag.
Jake.

Mike.

We come in peace,

but we are a little confused
about what the Army wants.

The captain's brought
many fine presents

from our Great White Father
in Washington.

I am the son of a trader,
Kellen.

I know what the white man's
presents means, eh?

Mercy, you will explain to us
why you need another fort.

I'll tell you, Jake.
But first we smoke.

No smoke.

Broken Thumb,
this is important talk.

It's important
the Great Spirit bless us before we begin.

Lost Eagle.

The Arapaho wouldn't come
all this way

and then insult their hosts,
would they?

Hello, McKeag.

The Arapaho will smoke.

(SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE)

Whoa.

Whoa.
What is it?

Turn around.

What happened to them?

Same thing that would've
happened to you

it you hadn't
sold your horses.

What you're looking at
is a miserable sight,

but I don't want none of you
bleeding for them!

They guessed wrong
and they'll pay for it.

They won't even make the fort.

They should've listened
to the men that know.

They'll perish.

So, they'll perish!
They have no right coming on this trail that way.

I'm giving them
my two spare oxen.

You'll do no such thing!

You'll need them oxen,
maybe for food.

I'm giving them two oxen.

The rest of you,
get them wagons rolling!

We make camp
in the Rockies tonight,

or we'll be caught in snow
in three weeks' time!

Elly, Purchas was right
about the horses.

And Levi's right
about the oxen.

This is a picture of
our Great White Father in Washington.

He's asked me to tell you
of our need for a fort.

You have a fort.

No, this place
is Mr. Kellen's.

The Army needs
a fort of its own.

Why the Army?

To protect our people
who move to the great water

across the mountains,
to the place called Oregon.

Long time ago,

when the white men
came across this land, they were good.

McKeag,
the father of the Pasquinels.

Some wanted to stay
and live with us.

There was fighting,
but never much,

and there was always respect.

Now there are men
with no respect,

mean men with no women
and no children.

That squaw killer who you
brought with you, Mercy,

ugly men that char our people
for no reason,

who have only war
in their hearts.

And we shall give them war.

Mercy?

Just thinking how to argue
with the truth.

You're doing fine, son.

But you're talking
to the wrong man. You want Lost Eagle.

You want to show him
who you are.

Broken Thumb,
your words are true,

but if there is a fort,

then there will be soldiers
to punish these evil men you speak of.

Now they live outside our law
because we cannot reach them.

Lost Eagle,

I tell you
the Great Father wants peace.

We can have peace.
Do you want it?

Yes, Mercy. We want peace,

and we want to protect
our people.

We do not want our women
killed by men like the cut-nose you rode with.

And we do not want our men,
like Jake,

shot in the back.

I saved Jake's life.

He told us.

Did he tell you why?

Because you are like McKeag,

like the men who used to come.

I try to be,

but there is another reason.

Jake is my brother.

We are all your brothers.

But the Pasquinels
are my real brothers.

My wife is Lisette Pasquinel,
their white sister in St. Louis.

McKeag?

'Tis true, Jake.
That's Lisette.

I saw her even before
your father did.

I know we've had
our differences,

but I'd like to think
there's some of that respect Broken Thumb mentioned

between us, too.

And I'll tell you
about Captain Mercy,

I trust him.

And I say y'all
can trust him, too,

even the mighty Cheyenne
chief who speaks of war.

There will be no war.

We will help you
to find a place for your fort, Mercy.

And I believe what
McKeag says about you.

But I pray
to the medicine arrows,

and I know this
to become truth,

that I shall kill you,
and you shall kill me.

Levi,

I'm proud of
what you did today.

I only did what was right.

Right to you.

I wonder what your
Reverend Fenstermacher would have done.

(LAUGHING)

I haven't thought about him
for six months.

I wanna do something for you,
but I don't know what I can.

Oh, Elly.

I guess I'll just have to
share my secret with you.

About the baby?

You know?

(LAUGHING)

I married a willow stem.
The last few weeks you've been blooming like a rose.

How do you feel about it?

Like the Lord of Creation.

I've been thinking.
How do you like the name "Maxwell"?

Not for a girl.

A girl? We need sons.

I want a girl.

I want to see her grow up
knowing your kindness and your gentleness.

I'll be through here
in a bit.

And you better think of
some other names besides Laura Lou.

(LAUGHING)

Sometimes there's
more than one, you know.

PURCHAS: Missy?

What?
Out here.

Please, would you gimme
a hand with your friend, Mr. Seccombe, here?

Mr. Purchas?

I hate to bother you,
I don't know what happened to him.

I'm afraid...
I'm afraid he's hurt real bad.

Just another step,
all right?

He's a...
He's just right in here.

I don't see anything.

Let me help you.

What happened?

I don't know, ma'am.
I sure don't.

But I know what
I want to happen now.

(MUFFLED SCREAM)

(SCREAMING)

Elly!

(SCREAMING) Levi!

Levi!

(SCREAMING)

Levi!

SECCOMBE: Levi, don't!
She's all right!

Elly's all right!
Stop, don't kill him!

You kill him,
we'll all die!

(GASPING)

Levi,

I'm sorry.

It's all right, Oliver.

Well, good luck to you both.

You, too.

Get up. Come on. Get up!

(GUN FIRES)

Whoa!

My Fordney.

So long, turnarounds!
Be sure to tell 'em back in St Louis

that when you lost your nerve,
old Sam Purchas was still heading west.

Levi! Let him go.

He's a pitiful old man
and something we know we don't want any part of.

What about you, pilgrim?

Have you still got the stomach
to follow this mountain man?

Oliver's going with him?

They can both go
all the way to hell for all I care.

Get up, come on! Keep going.

(GOADING OXEN)

(WHIP CRACKING)

ELLY: September 2nd, Sunday.

We have devised many names
for what we are doing in turning back,

but the real name
is one we have not used.

The word is "defeat, "
the defeat of all we had hoped for.

The horses we loved are lost.

The wonderful oxen who were
so good to us are dying,

and those that live
break my heart with their loyal plodding.

They cannot last long.

Levi.
Levi, the wheel, Levi.

Whoa.

Well, that's one problem
we don't have anymore.

What'll we do?

(SIGHING) Hand me the saw.

The saw?

ELLY: September 9.

We arrive at Fort John again,
this time from the west.

We have thrown away
most of the things we were going to use

in Oregon for our new life,

and even our wagon
is a poor thing, cut in half,

with only two wheels
that cannot continue turning much longer.

We have nothing,

and now we have lost hope.

Levi.

A wheel give up?

After we did.

What?

We turned around.

Why?

I saw the elephant.

Oh, I don't believe that.

Why not?

Well, a man doesn't spin
a tale that tall

unless he's hiding
a mountain of fear.

I don't see that in you.

Well, it doesn't matter.
The fact is, we quit.

Because of the baby?

How'd you know about that?

Not me, Clay Basket.
She's had three herself, you know.

I was wondering if...

No, I don't suppose
you'd consider it.

What?

Oh, just an old man's
foolish dream.

It wouldn't be fair
to a young one, with the makings you have.

What?

Well,

I told you I wanted
to start another store, for trading with the Indians

on that land down south
of here, near Beaver Creek.

The place you trapped
with your partner?

Pasquinel.

I just had a funny feeling
maybe you'd take to it

the same way he and I did.

I don't even have to see it
to know that for a fact.

ELLY: September 15.

To be pregnant takes away
the sting of defeat,

for just as we shall
be starting a new community where the rivers meet,

so Levi and I shall be
starting a new family.

Also, the land
we are traveling through

is the kind
that makes you proud,

for it is beautiful
in a manner

that those of us who lived
always in Lancaster

could never have dreamed
or appreciated.

There it is!

It looks like
the walls of Jericho.

It looks like a castle.

Well, to me, it looks like
we're almost home.

To Clay Basket, too.

We camped here many summers
when I was a girl,

following buffalo.

Beaver Creek's
over to the south.

That's where Pasquinel
and Lame Beaver first met,

and where we'll build
our store.

To the west is Fox Canyon.

I spent the winter
there one year, under a 15-foot snowdrift.

Three weeks without
ever seeing the sky.

My lodge is still there,
if someone hasn't chopped it up for firewood.

I won't go on boring you
with reminiscing.

Boring?

Coming from Lancaster,
it's like a fairy tale.

I'm absolutely sure
it's a castle.

Levi. This land. We're home.

I feel it, too.

We never did decide
about the names.

Oh, I did.

You said it has to be a girl,
and I'm saying we can only have one girl.

So, it has to be Elly.

No.

Yes.

Remember what you said
about my blooming like a rose?

I feel that way tonight.

Do you still feel
that way about me?

After...
After what happened?

Oh,

I love you, Elly.

(LAUGHING) I love you.

You know, after what
my brothers told me,

I never saw how men
and women could be friends.

But, Elly,

you're the greatest friend
I've ever had,

and the only woman
I've ever really wanted.

What about Rebecca Stoltzfus?

Oh, I forgot.

I guess I love her, too.

What?

(LAUGHING)
For what she did to me.

If it hadn't been for that,
we wouldn't have each other

and we wouldn't know
how beautiful it is out here.

Morning, Elly.

Morning.

Dear Father,

thank you for...

Dear God,

thank you for this life

and this place.

(RATTLING)

(GUN FIRES)

What is it?

Snake bite!

(SPITTING)

Elly?

Look. The neck.
She was down low.

Elly? Elly!

Elly!

That's God's mercy, son.

I've seen 'em die slow.
Believe me, it's better this way.

And aye.

(SOBBING) Oh, Elly!

Elly!

Oh, Elly.

Elly.

(KNOCKING AT DOOR)

McKEAG: Levi.

Levi?

Clay Basket says
dinner's ready.

Being a butcher, you'll
appreciate what an Indian can do with buffalo tongue.

That place you stayed,
Fox Canyon,

where is it?

(DOOR OPENING)

Someone should go to him.

I needed to be alone then.

Almost the same way
he needs it now.

You'd seen the winters before.
You knew how to survive them.

Well, if the cabin's
still standing he'll be...

lf?

Well, if you won't go,
then I will.

No.

He may need you sometime,
but not right now.

Clay Basket,

it's like the time
the Pawnee and the pirates

stripped Pasquinel
of everything he had.

He went back to St. Louis
with nothing.

But maybe that gave him
more than he'd ever have had otherwise.

Same way with Levi Zendt.

With Elly, it seemed like
he had everything he could ever want.

Now he's come
to a place where...

Where he has nothing.

Well,

maybe that's the place
in every man's life

when he finally learns
the value of all things.

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