All language subtitles for Centennial 12 The Scream of Eagles Pt 1.eng

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(PROPELLER WHIRRING)

(MAN CHATTERING
ON PA SYSTEM)

Professor Vernor?
Yes.

I'm Sidney Endermann.
Oh, hello.

I thought you'd be wearing
a suit and tie.

(CHUCKLES) Yeah.
It's too hot. This way.

Thank you.

Ten days, right?
How's that?

The time you said you needed
to decide whether or not you'd take the assignment.

Oh, yeah,
that's right.

I read Virginia Genesis.
How'd it sell?

Miserably.

Oh. What's your
latest one?

Great Lakes Ordeal.
All about iron, steel.

A lot of immigration,
of course.

How's it doing?

It's holding its own
in paperback, just barely.

Well, Professor,
your books may not sell,

but you have a hell of a rep
in the profession.

I guess the brains
in this country

know a good man
when they read his research.

Thanks.
Oh, and it's Lew, okay?

Okay. Sid.

Sid.
Yeah.

You live around here, Sid?
New York.

Oh, I'm sorry, I...
No, don't be sorry.

Unless, of course,
it's about my living in New York.

SIDNEY: What's your hang-up
about writing the article?

For openers,
it's already been written.

They just want
some letters from me

giving my understanding
of what went on in this part of Colorado

between the years
1844 and 1978.

Not much more
than a house report.

You know,
"Prepared with the help of Professor Lewis Vernor,

"Department of History,
Georgia Southern."

And you feel like you're
selling out, huh?

Well, it's not exactly
the kind of in-depth research I'm used to.

Well, I'll tell
you one thing.

It's all first-class
with U.S. Magazine. Your limousine awaits.

SIDNEY: That's how
a magazine like U.S. stays in business.

We work like demons
for months on a project. Greatest writers in America.

But in the end, they want
someone with real brains to vet the piece.

Facts are important,
but understandings, like they want from you,

that's vital.

Oh, I don't know.
I do.

Your vanity's been destroyed
and your intellectual integrity's been humiliated.

But they offered
to pay you twice as much

as you'd make teaching
for the same period of time,

so you thought you'd come
and check it out, right?

Something like that.

(LAUGHS)

So what's your involvement,
other than chauffeuring around bruised egos?

What did they tell you?

That you'd meet me,
show me around,

and that the magazine is
publishing a double issue on one American community.

"The soul of America
in microcosm," I believe,

is the way
your managing editor put it.

What did you say
when they told you

the town they'd picked
was Centennial?

That I'd never heard of it.

Which is exactly
what they wanted to hear.

Well, that and the fact
that I told them

I couldn't believe
that anyone

would seriously consider
the South Platte River as the...

The focus of an article
on the development of American culture.

Too thick to drink,
too thin to plow?

Exactly.

Well, there's the Platte.

Not much of a highway
of empire, is it?

Used to be.

It was a hell
of a highway once.

It brought Pasquinel here.
And Alexander McKeag.

Who?

You'll find out.

If it weren't for them,
there wouldn't be any Centennial.

Hey, Nate.
NATE: Hey, Sidney.

Mexican food tonight?
You bet. 6:00?

Sounds good.
All right.

I thought an historian
would want to stay where a lot of history's been made.

Sounds reasonable.

We'll get you registered,
and then we'll get you oriented.

Okay.

SIDNEY: Zendt's Store.
That's where it all started.

VERNOR: Zendt?
Mmm-hmm. Levi Zendt.

You're gonna love him.

And his wife, Elly,
and his second wife, Lucinda McKeag.

You mentioned that name
McKeag before.

Wait a minute,
I seem to hear a distant bell going off.

Was he a trader?
A mountain man?

He was a legend.

One worth knowing
and recording,

so that the rest
of the country can know, too.

Come on.

Manolo Marquez and his family
live down the other end of this street.

That's another
whole story.

And then there are
two more places that really count.

The Wendell place...
Yeah.

...and Paul Garrett's spread,
The Venneford.

That's the cattle ranch.
Mmm-hmm.

It was owned
by Earl Venneford of Wye.

The greatest
cattle-rancher in the West.

Does the earl
have a place in my story?

Only if you
want him to.

The ranch is really
the heart of the story.

This is cattle country

and there wasn't a cow
north to Wyoming or east to Nebraska

that didn't bear
the Crown Vee brand for a long time.

(TRUCK RUMBLING)

VERNOR:
There's your truck.

No, that's his truck.

Who's he?
Cisco Calendar.

Calendar, the singer?

Yeah, that's him.

What's he, uh...
What's he doing here?

He lives here.

I know,
he could afford to live anywhere,

but this is where
his family's always lived.

Cisco!
I thought you were in Chicago.

I just got back.

Well, I'd like you
to meet somebody. Lew Vernor, Cisco Calendar.

Hello.
Howdy.

Saw the truck
down at the hotel.

I thought you might come
looking for it.

Um, I borrowed the truck
to pick Lew up at the airport.

I was just giving
him a tour.

CISCO: I saw.

Think we might take a trip
up to Blue Valley again?

That's a wonderful idea.
Lew, would you like...

Oh, no, no thanks.
I'd like to look around some more.

You go ahead.

You're sure?
Oh, absolutely. Nice to meet you.

Same.

Bye.

I've been working
on a song about you.

You haven't.
I have.

# I guess she'd rather be
in Colorado

# I guess she'd rather be
out where the sky looks like a pearl

# After the rain #

(MOTOR RUMBLING)

Howdy.
Hi.

What're you doing?

Going to build a bridge
over the creek,

so the big trucks
from the West

can make it
to the plant easier. Oh.

MORGAN: That's enough!

I said, that's enough.

Hey, damn it.

I said that's enough!

What is it?
What?

The hole here.
What is it?

I don't know.

I don't want this fool
getting hurt on my property.

I said that's enough.
You're gonna get yourself killed.

They told me to work here.

Well, I'm telling you
to work over there.

Who are you?

Morgan Wendell,
and I own this property

and I'm telling you
to work over there.

Okay.

What is that?

Sinkhole.

Watch your step.
It could be hollow through here.

No sense in poking
around here.

Are you all right?

All right?

I'm fine.
I'd just appreciate it if you'd stay clear.

I don't want anyone
getting in any accidents around here.

My family made it big here

by picking
the right place to be at the right time.

Now, the man
who gets this office

can write his own ticket
in this state for the next 20 years.

I want you both
to start working on the governor.

Tell him that we're
singing his praises every inch of the way,

but we want to know
that we can count on him to do the same for us.

Now, if you
need any help,

the names on this list
should carry enough clout...

Mr. Wendell,
he's coming.

Oh.

Thanks, Eddie.

There you go.

Thank you,
Mr. Wendell.

See you boys later.
You bet.

MORGAN:
Professor Vernor?

I thought that was you.
I'm glad to bump into you again.

Morgan Wendell.
You were out to my place earlier this morning

when that workman
nearly ran his rig into that sinkhole.

Oh, right.

Well, I didn't realize
who you were then.

I just wanted to apologize
for my manners.

Oh, that isn't necessary,
Mr. Wendell.

Well, you see, it's just
that we have a lot of kids fooling around down there.

Sometimes they
hurt themselves.

It's inconvenient having
somebody come after you all the time

when it's something
you have no control over. You know what I mean?

Certainly.

I understand you're doing
a piece on Centennial.

I may, yes.

Well, I've got
deep roots here, Mr. Vernor.

Real deep.

And I can't tell you
how proud I am

that they picked our town
to write about and for you to do the writing.

Thank you, Mr. Wendell.

I haven't absolutely
decided that I will write the article as yet.

You don't think
they're going to let you get away, do you?

A magazine
as important as U.S. ?

They need people like you
to keep on top.

So people like me can be sure
that when I read a fact, it's a fact.

Anyway, I want you to know
I'm available anytime

to give you the facts
on how this town got started

and how my grandfather
helped put it on the map.

You'll forgive me,
I hope,

but as yet,
I know nothing of the town.

No history, no names.

Well, that's the way
it should be, shouldn't it?

No prejudices,
no preconceptions.

Let me give you my card.

I don't mean to crowd you,

but this town
is the most important place in the world to me.

My grandparents came here
during real hard times

and they found
the American dream.

(MARIACHI MUSIC PLAYING)

Hi, Sid, Nate.
Hey, Paul.

Join you?
Sure, sit down.

I haven't seen Cisco
around lately.

Nobody has.
Except Sidney here.

He's been writing.

He's had
a parcel of inspiration, I can tell you that much.

You're terrible.

Lew!

Hi.

Say hi to Paul Garrett.
Paul, this is Lew Vernor. Mr. Vernor.

We're trying to get him
to do the real work on our story about Centennial.

This is Nate Person.
Sit down.

VERNOR: Hi.
Howdy.

We're just going to have
a couple of beers, thank you.

SIDNEY: And Nate may not
be the greatest barber in the world,

but this is the man who knows
where all the bodies are buried.

And our host,
Manolo Marquez. Lew Vernor.

Do you like
Mexican food?

I don't know.
It's not all that popular in Georgia.

Well, this is the place
to find out.

I'll bring you an order.
The best of everything.

Nothing for me, Manolo,
I've gotta get back.

I'm sorry I'm late.

I ran into a fellow
I couldn't get away from.

Oh, who?
Who else?

Had to be Morgan Wendell,
right?

How'd you know?

Well,
you're writing an article for a high-powered magazine,

he's going heavy
into politics,

won't hurt him none
to have folks all around the country

reading about him
and his family.

'Course, depends
on what they read.

His version
or my daddy's.

Nate.

Lew, what did he want?

Well, nothing. Just said
he wanted to help out any way he could.

He didn't mention
anything about politics or a campaign.

Of course not.

Anything a Wendell does
is only out of concern for somebody else, right?

They sure know how to sell,
that's for dang sure.

And old Morgan's
trying to sell himself right into the state capital

and who knows what else.

Washington, maybe.

Wouldn't it beat all?

A Wendell in Washington?

No editorials from me.

It's their town
you wanna write about.

What's he running for?

Well, it's a new office.
Commissioner of Resources and Priorities.

The idea is
to elect a person

that will help the governor
make the right ecological and industrial choices.

I've never heard
of that one.

We're a pioneer state,
Mr. Vernor.

People around here
have always been willing

to try a new approach
to things. Even politics.

We led the nation
in old-age pensions,

proper funding of education,
liberal labor laws.

Turned down
the '76 Winter Olympics

because we thought
it might be destructive to the environment.

Well, Wendell didn't.

I'm not defending
Wendell, Nate.

Just his right
to change his mind about the way he feels.

Are you gonna vote for him?
A Wendell?

Far as I know,
his is the only name on the ballot.

NATE: Well, yours could be.

And I know for a fact
that the governor asked you himself to run.

Well, I've got a ranch to run.
Takes up all my time.

Manolo,
when Flor comes in,

tell her I'll call her later.

Paul...
I wish I could tell her you've changed your mind

about running
against Wendell.

Excuse me. Any chance
you could carve out some time for Lew?

Tomorrow morning?

Fine.

You an early riser,
Mr. Vernor? Sure.

It'll take some time
to see the Venneford.

Thanks, Paul.

NATE: You really
want to do something

for this part
of the country, Professor?

Well, you and Sidney
go to work on that man

and get him
into politics himself.

And you tell me
that I'm not right, Manolo.

You're right, amigo.
Wendell should be stopped.

And Paul Garrett
is the only man who could do it.

That's right.

It won't take you
a long time to find out. He is Colorado.

VERNOR: A breeding book.

History
of the Venneford bulls.

Over there inside the back
of the book it's got the family, too.

All the way back
to the fifth generation.

The Garretts
came down from Montana. They were English stock.

The Messmores
and the Bucklands were, too.

The Lloyds were Welsh.
They emigrated to Tennessee and then Texas.

And old Patrick Beeley
was a hard drinking Irishman.

Amazing.

Pasquinel...
Yeah, he was French.

Zendt, Skimmerhorn
and Bockweiss were Germans.

Deal was Dutch.

Red Wolf and Pale Star
were full-blooded Arapaho.

And Lucinda McKeag

was Pasquinel's
half-breed daughter by a squaw named Clay Basket.

She was the daughter
of a great Arapaho leader.

Pretty mixed up.

It was damned near incestuous.

You want some more coffee?
No, thank you.

If you turn to
the front of the book,

you'll find the history
of some of those great old bulls

had some pretty close
breeding in it, too.

Come on, bring it with you.

We gotta get airborne
if we're gonna see this ranch. Okay.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

Lucinda McKeag.

You say she was
Pasquinel's daughter?

Yeah, she was one of them.

The other was
Maxwell Mercy's wife, Lisette.

She was born to Pasquinel's
St. Louis wife,

Lise Bockweiss.

Then Pasquinel is responsible
for the development of the whole area?

And Alexander McKeag.
But Pasquinel came first.

He paddled a birch bark
up the Platte all the way from St. Louis.

He was a courier du bois.

One who runs in the woods.

A Frenchman from Quebec.

And the first white man
the Arapaho had ever seen.

He traded with them
for beaver pelts.

And Lame Beaver let him know
he was welcome to come back.

He traded
with the Pawnee, too. And he won their respect.

Because he came to them
without fear.

He found McKeag
in a Pawnee camp,

and he was able
to save his life

because the Indians believed
he was a man of his word.

A man they could trust.

McKeag stayed with Pasquinel.

And they explored
a virgin wilderness together.

And Pasquinel taught McKeag
how to survive.

Don't fire.

(GUN FIRES)

You were way high
both times!

I hit what I wanted.
Yeah, the wind.

If you give an Indian
a fair chance, you can avoid killing.

They're going
to charge again.

We'll give them this one
and then they'll be gone.

In years to come
they will sit around the campfire

and talk about
the coup they made on the two white men.

And the whistling lead.

And you will sit in Scotland
and talk about the tomahawks and lances.

PAUL: Their story's
an important story.

The story of men
who lived a life of freedom

not many others
have ever known.

And what McKeag
learned from Pasquinel,

he passed on
to another important man in this part of the country.

His name was Levi Zendt.

He'd been headed for Oregon,
but like a lot of others, he had to turn back.

Levi,

a wheel give out?

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.
Fact is, we quit.

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.

PAUL: Levi and his wife Elly
headed south with McKeag and his family

and camped at a place
called Rattlesnake Cliffs.

McKEAG: There it is.

(SNAKE RATTLING)

What is it?

Snake bite.

She was down low.

Elly?

Elly!

LEVI: Elly!

It's God's mercy, son.

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

Levi...

Elly!

Elly...

Ellie died.

But Levi stayed on
with McKeag and they built a trading post together.

McKeag went to St. Louis
and brought back goods

and they made a real go of it
out there alone.

Because McKeag had learned
from Pasquinel that the secret was to show no fear.

And Levi Zendt
learned the same lesson from McKeag.

Why?

He was Pawnee.

He was a boy.
He was warrior prepared to die.

Are you?

Before I'll watch you
commit another murder.

Don't you let Pawnee
on our land again. Ever!

This land
is McKeag's and mine.

Clay Basket's!

And when she dies, ours.
His and mine.

If you want the exact figures,
Jake, 40% is mine.

And when I marry Lucinda,
it'll be half.

Marry Lucinda?

(SCOFFS)

You going to marry Lucinda?

This land is ours

and when we tell you
to get off, you get off.

Otherwise, it will all go.

We kill you all!

It's easy to kill
with a dozen others behind you.

Your father was a brave man,
they say.

I figure if he'd seen
what just happened, he'd have been sick.

You keep the trading post.

No harm.

One white man alone
who understood the Indians

couldn't stop others
who didn't take the time to learn, though.

And when the men
who came looking for gold got there,

they were in too big a rush
to want to learn anything.

They're the ones
who really started the Indian wars.

And it cost
a lot of good people dearly.

The trading post
Zendt built with McKeag was burned down.

But he and Lucinda
built a new one.

Right on the spot
where it sits today.

Another important man
came along about then.

His name was Hans Brumbaugh.

He was a Volga Deutschman.

And he was the first white man
to really make use of the river since Pasquinel.

This is my land, huh?

Mine.

And I'll grow potatoes.

And I'll be king
of potatoes.

Potatoes Brumbaugh.
That's me.

That's good, huh?

Potatoes Brumbaugh.

(LEVI LAUGHING)

VERNOR: So the river really
was the highway of empire.

PAUL: Sure was.

Now it's being treated
like a sewer in some places

and being sucked dry
at that.

PAUL:
Until I tell you different,

everything you see
down there once belonged to Earl Venneford of Wye.

VERNOR: Incredible.
It's so vacant.

I guess it's never been good
for much but running cattle.

Yeah, and barely good
for that.

It takes about 60 acres
to support one cow and calf unit.

(WHISTLES)

Sidney says
you bought some of it.

(CHUCKLING) Yeah.

Only about
130,000 acres.

Maybe it's the best part.

It's a challenge.

And back east,
how many acres to a unit?

Well, my uncle in Virginia
needs one acre for what you call a unit.

But, see, it's bottom land
along the river.

That's the difference between
Virginia and Colorado.

One to an acre your way,
one to sixty our way.

I guess it makes your land
60 times better than ours,

but we work 70 times harder,
so we come out a little bit ahead, huh?

How much land was there?

Well, 180 miles east-west,

50 miles north-south.

About six million acres.

(WHISTLES)

When my great-grandfather,
Jim Lloyd, was foreman,

he said that he could inspect
about 10 miles a day.

About 18 days
to cover just the middle.

Forget the north
and south borders.

You said the Lloyds
were from Texas?

Yeah. He came north
on the first drive. The Skimmerhorn drive?

No, Skimmerhorn
went to Texas to get the cows.

But R.J. Poteet
made the drive north.

Do you mind
if I turn this on?

No, go ahead.

R.J. Poteet
drove them north.

That'd be 1868?

That's right.

Jim Lloyd was just a boy.

Did he tell you about it?

Well, he claimed
he grew old telling me.

You can imagine
what it was like for a kid about eight or nine years old,

listening to his grandpa
telling him stories about adventures he had.

Adventures he knew
he was never gonna see in his lifetime.

(CATTLE LOWING)

Can I help you, son?

Yes, sir, I'm looking
for Mr. R.J. Poteet.

You found him.

Mr. Poteet, my ma says
to please ride over and see her.

Who's your ma?

Emma Lloyd.

You Tom Lloyd's boy?

Yes, sir.

Well, how is ol' Tom?

He's dead.

He didn't get back
from the war.

What's your name, son?

Jim.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

Emma.

R.J.! Bless me,
you look just fine. Just fine.

Jim here told me
that Tom didn't make it back.

Him and too many others.

What can I do for you?

I need you
to buy my cattle, R.J.

Well, Emma,

we just got about every head
that we need.

Well, I'm sure of it, R.J,

but, well, we haven't had
a cent of spending money in over a year

and I just gotta sell
my cattle.

How many kids you got?

Three boys.

Jim's the oldest.

Could I see the others?

Boys, come on out here.

This is J.C.
and this is little Tom.

He does favor him some.

Boys, this is
Mr. R.J. Poteet.

A good friend
of your father's for many years.

And of mine.

Howdy.

J.C.

Now, the reason
that I'm here,

is because your brother
told me about your pa,

and I reckon that if it was me
that didn't make it back instead of him,

I'd like to think
that he'd look in on my family, if they ask.

I'll take your cattle, Emma.
How many you got? A hundred and fifty.

I'll take them
on consignment.

Two dollars a head now,
plus whatever I can get at Fort Sumner.

Oh, thank God.
God bless you, R.J.

Jim...

There's one more thing.

Now what's that?

Would you consider
taking Jim with you?

I've seen you ride.
Can you throw a rope?

Yes, sir.

It's a deal.

But when the trail's over,
you don't get any wages.

Why not?

Because I'm giving them
to your mother now.

VERNOR:
Tough way to grow up.

Well, he didn't have
much choice.

The north was hungry
for beef and Texas was just plain hungry.

Did he ever go back?

He told me that after
he saw Colorado,

there was
nowhere else on earth that he wanted to live.

And I grew up around here
and I think I pretty much feel the same way.

Mmm.

You mentioned a fellow
named Nate. Mmm?

Any relation to Nate Person?
Yeah, his grandfather.

He was Poteet's
right-hand man.

He was the only black man
that ever rode point on the Skimmerhorn trail.

Gap's dead ahead.

Fourteen miles past
it's the Pecos.

How's the water?

Sweet in one spot.

North and south,
it's all stagnant. Pure alkali.

Kill every cow
that drinks it.

Is it marked?

There's a sign
says Horsehead Crossing.

A line of skulls
tell you why.

(SHOUTING)

(WHOOPING)

Watch where you pass!

(SHOUTING)

Bring it up!

(SHOUTING)

Dust, hell.

That alkali weren't nothing
to what me and ol' O.D. Cleaver come through

when we was finishing up
an Indian scout one time.

Nothing could have been worse
than that alkali.

I don't see how.

I'll tell you how.

The wind never
stopped blowing, that's how.

For three days
and three nights.

The sand covered up
every blade of grass,

even the mesquite bushes.

We was riding down
through the sand hills

between El Paso
and Alamogordo.

Now you know
what that's like. I'll take it to that alkali.

Well, that's 'cause
you wasn't there when we found the hat.

The hat?
Yes, sir.

A man's hat lying there
on top a sand dome when the wind died down.

Real nice hat, too.
Like someone cared for it real good.

So ol' O.D.,

he climbs down
to pick it up, don't you know.

And smack underneath it,
there's a head.

A head?

What'd you do?

Well, I climbed down
beside ol' O.D.

We started
scratching the sand out of the eyes and the ears,

and the mouth
with our fingers.

Then danged
if that ol' head

didn't look right smack up
at both of us

and started talking.

It talked?
That's right.

What did it say?

It says,
"Get a shovel, boys, I'm on horseback."

PAUL: But it wasn't
all yarn-spinning and eating trail dust.

There was danger, too.
The outlaws and Indians.

(WHOOPING)

POTEET: All right, boys.

Hold your fire.

You held them, boys!
You held them!

They won't be coming back.

You all right,
Mr. Skimmerhorn? Yes, sir.

Good work, Nate.
You all ought to have seen old Jim.

He dropped that chief
when he was right on top of me.

I killed him?
I sure as hell didn't.

Somebody else's
bullet, maybe.

No, sir.
Chief was yours, Jim.

Quite a breed of men.

Yes, they were.

You know, Nate
and Bufe Coker the rebel died not far from here.

They were fighting
side by side in the range war.

Cisco Calendar's
great-grandfather, Amos,

he was a buffalo hunter
for a while until he started to herd sheep

with Nate and Coker
for my great-grandfather on my father's side.

Messmore Garrett.
Sheep?

Yeah, he started with sheep
but he had the good sense to switch to cattle.

The cowboy
made this state.

He carved out the trail
we're flying over now.

(HORSE SNUFFLING)

Coker,
they're straying over there.

Yes, boss.

Jim, well,
this is the trail's end.

I heard.

I'd like...

I'd like for you to hear
something from me.

Sir?

You know,
if I was your own pa,

I couldn't be prouder
of the way that you've come through.

I'd like
to shake your hand.

Thank you, Mr. Poteet.
You betcha.

I'd like to give you
something, too.

Oh, no, sir.

That wasn't our deal.

All right, son.

Well, you think
you'll be sticking with this kind of work?

Yeah, if I can find it.

Well, the trick is
finding men like you that will do it.

It's a big,
wind-blistered world we're riding through, Jim.

I just hope it'll last
a little while longer.

Why wouldn't it?

Well, because when
men like you and me

point the way to where
a town can be built,

then other men come along
and they build it.

Settlers that want a home,

or a title,
a piece of ground.

And they'll kill
to keep it.

But if you're as much like me
as I think you are, you won't fight for that.

You'll only care about
what you're responsible for.

Your horse and your herd.

I don't know, Jim.
Maybe...

Maybe we're
just too restless to inherit the earth.

Hmm?

(WHISTLES)

PAUL:
He did inherit it, though. A large part of it, anyway.

How did he wind up
owning the ranch?

Luck of the draw.

A wealthy widow
fell in love with him and made him a wealthy man.

Your great-grandmother.
That would be Charlotte Buckland?

Quite a lady.
And quite a story in her own right.

Sidney said
I'd need a lot of tape.

Well, we got
a lot of history.

But the men
that followed that herd north,

those are the men
you gotta focus on here.

Without the cattle,
there wouldn't be a Colorado.

DENNIS: Morgan, Vernor's
just trying to get a slant on the story, that's all.

Besides,
what could he possibly do that would hurt you?

That's an important magazine,
Dennis. It's got millions of readers.

And what they write
about my family

can affect what I'm after
in the next couple of years.

Are you talking
about that gossip of how your granddad got started?

Morg, my daddy
used to tell us that one

when we were
just little squirts.

Hell, in a town like this,
everybody's got a story or two they're not proud of.

Well, I'm proud
of my family. Damn proud.

I don't want that story
turning up in print right now.

Simms and Riggs
have been watching him.

Said he hasn't done
anything out of the ordinary.

He's been with Paul Garrett.

Garrett's got
a big story to tell, Morg. You know that.

If I were writing
for that magazine, I'd be pumping his well dry myself.

You afraid ol' Paul
might still wanna jump in on this seat?

I'm not afraid
of Paul Garrett.

I just don't want anyone
upsetting my plans right now.

We've got a perfect setup
going here.

A campaign for a real
public service showcase.

A chance to push an image
the public wants to buy.

Now the right words
about me and my family in that magazine

can put us over the hump.

The wrong words
can flush it all.

Understand?

VERNOR: That's got to be
good food.

It always tastes better after
than it does going down.

Thank you.

Sort of puts
your stomach in synch

with the rest of the world,
doesn't it? Yeah.

So tell me,
are we in synch?

I've still got eight days,
right?

Just didn't think
it would take you that long.

How long did it take you?
To do what?

VERNOR: Write the story
I'm here to fortify.

They did tell you.

Your friends did.

The way they treat you.

So, how long
did you do research here?

Five months.

Disappointed?

No, it was just that at first
I thought you were someone who, you know...

Yeah, that was helping
somebody else out?

Someone more important
than myself, huh?

I'm sorry.

But your magazine has asked me
to spend a lot of time

doing something
you've already done.

Can I ask you
a question?

Sure.

I expect it.
I know how important this is to you.

What's your judgment
of the Skimmerhorn massacre?

Oh, no.

That's your job
to tell us what you think.

Have you done any work
on the reports of Maxwell Mercy?

Lew, you're an ace.
You're a real ace.

I did my master's thesis
under Allan Nevins at Columbia University

on some unpublished letters
I found of Captain Mercy's.

And on my bedroom wall
at home,

I have
an old photograph of him

taken by Jackson
at Fort Laramie.

And for your
personal information,

I got damn near
straight As at Illinois

and honors
at the University of Chicago, where I took my doctorate.

Well, Doctor,
you really love this, don't you?

Yeah, I do.

And I really need you
to make things hum. To make them work.

To make them live.

VERNOR: What about the creek?
Anything important happen here?

What makes you ask?

A little something
I came across when I first got here.

This is the spot
where Pasquinel and McKeag set up camp

the first time they traded
with the Arapahos.

How long ago was that?

They were the first white men
to come down the river.

That was nearly
two centuries ago.

You're supposed to be
getting this information from other people.

Could Morgan Wendell
tell me?

About Pasquinel and McKeag?
No.

His family didn't get here
until the 1880s. Ah.

What's their connection
with the creek?

Oh, you've been doing
your homework.

You heard about
the scandal, hmm?

Scandal?

Yeah, the murder.

On this land?
Their land?

It wasn't theirs
at the time.

But that's what some
people say, that's how they got their money to pay for it.

They killed for it?

That's what Nate Person said.
And Manolo says it's true, too.

What about Paul Garrett?

No, he just sort of
disregards anything

that doesn't
concern him directly.

What happened?

Lew, I'm supposed
to be making you do your own research.

Okay, how's this?

What is it?
What does it look like?

Is it human?

I'd say so.

Did you find it here?

No. It's just something
I carry around to startle bright young journalists

I meet
in small Western towns.

No, I'm serious.
Did you find it here?

Right there.

They were digging a hole
to pour a foundation for the bridge abutment.

They must've broken through
an old cave.

Then Dumire was right.

Dumire?

He was the sheriff here
when the territory became a state.

Axel Dumire was his name.

He swore that
the Wendells got their start by committing a murder.

But he could never prove it
because he couldn't find the body.

(BELL RINGING)

SIDNEY: Morgan's grandfather,
Mervin, did arrive without a penny.

But according
to Sheriff Dumire,

the fortune he made here
was founded on blackmail and blood money.

Mr. Wendell, ain't it?

Sheriff.
What a surprise.

Maude, for heaven's sake,
look who's here.

Yes.

MERVIN: Well,
how have you been, old man?

Your trunks are
on the cart, sir.

Oh, thank you, lad.

Here you go.

Oh, Lord.

I don't suppose
you'd be able to change a $20 gold piece?

I don't suppose I would.

Oh.

Well, no matter.
I'll catch you next time.

There it is,
the Railway Arms. See it, dear?

MAUDE: Oh, yes.

Have them send someone
for the trunks. Yes.

Come, Philip.

How long are you planning
to stay with us in Centennial?

Two performances, sir.

And of course there will be
a free pass for you at the box office.

And of course you're planning
to pay your bills before you leave.

Sheriff.

SIDNEY: I told you
the Railway Arms had seen a lot of history.

Well, it saw
the first performance in Centennial by the Wendells.

Bravo!

But some of
their better performances

were held
for private audiences.

At least, Dumire thought so.

Like the one
for Reverend Holly, the local minister,

who let the Wendells
move into a house he owned, rent-free.

A performance Dumire called
the badger game.

MERVIN: Maude?

Maude, I'm home.
Are you here?

Maude...

Mr. Wendell,
listen to me, please...

You filth!

Mr. Wendell,
I'm so sorry.

And so pious!

So sanctimonious!

Where's your Bible now,
Pastor?

About goodness
and innocence and trust.

Oh please,
you can't say anything to me

that I haven't already
said to myself.

How did this happen?
I don't know how this happened.

It's as much my fault
as it is his.

If you're going to shoot,
then shoot both of us.

Yes, don't worry
about that, madam.

You'll pay!

Please,
we've admitted our guilt.

We'll do anything.

Yes, anything.

Shut your mouth, sir!

If for one second
you believe

that there's anything
more important to me than honor...

Oh no, no. Of course not.
I didn't mean that at all.

But to scar your son
like this...

He's right.

Why... Why should you
want to punish Philip?

Please let me... Let me try
to make this up to you somehow.

Let me...
Let me give you something.

Something for Philip's sake.

(STUTTERING)
I don't have very much, but...

Well, I don't know,
perhaps...

Some kind of security
for his future.

The deed.

The what?

I want the deed
to this house.

That would be something
permanent for him.

That's scandalous.

Scandalous?

You talk to me
of scandal?

I'll show you scandal, sir.

No, wait!

The house is yours.

(LAUGHING)

Shh...

VERNOR: The badger game.
That isn't murder.

No, the murder came
when a man named Sorenson

saw through
what they were up to.

But Dumire couldn't prove it.
Well, he couldn't find what you found.

Well, Sidney, we...
We're not...

Lew, Dumire swore

that Sorenson's body
is buried somewhere in that creek.

Yeah, yeah.

But first, we don't know
whether this thing I found is actually human.

Second, we don't know
how old it is. And third...

Then I will go to New York.
I will take it to a lab and have it examined,

I will call you...
And third,

if those two guys
in the pickup truck are friends of Wendell's,

it wouldn't be
the smartest thing

either one of us
could ever do

to make a lot of noise
about this thing right now, anyway.

Don't look at 'em.

How long have
they been there?

Well, when we came out
of Manolo's they were there.

And this is the third time
they've been by here.

Why?

Maybe Wendell
has more parts to the puzzle than we do.

Lew, I don't know
what you're talking about.

I saw him take out of there
what could have been a complete skeleton.

That's how I got
this little number in my pocket.

Just laugh a little,

and act interested
in anything besides that cave.

Who do you suppose
they were?

Probably a couple
of researchers

doing a piece
on Centennial.

Funny.

Not so funny
if they go to press before we do.

We?

I'm afraid I'm hooked.

On doing the assignment,
or playing Sherlock Holmes?

Both.

I hate leaving
you here alone.

I wish you would at least
talk to the sheriff.

Is he related
to Axel Dumire?

You're impossible.

Look, Sid,
It's the 20th century, right?

Men have walked on the moon
and are headed for planets beyond.

A murder that may
or may not have been committed 100 years ago

isn't going to place us
in jeopardy.

It was 90 years ago,
and it did happen.

According to Dumire's diary,
he had everything but the corpus delicti.

SIDNEY: He was on to them
from the beginning.

You Mervin Wendell's boy?

Yes, sir.

What's your name?

Philip.

Come down to see your dad
do his job?

Yes, sir.

Well, he's a real
hard worker.

Job don't pay much.
Only about four dollars a week.

Hardly enough
to keep a bird alive.

You look like
you're eating all right, though.

Got some new clothes?

Yup. Well, I think
someone gave them to us.

Good talking to you, Phil.

SIDNEY: Morgan's father,
Philip, was just a boy then.

But he had to make
a man's decision soon.

The night of the murder,
Paul Garrett's grandfather, Messmore,

was throwing a party
for his wife.

(CHAMBER MUSIC PLAYING)

Pa, I...
Yes, lad, later.

Well now,
let me guess.

Doctor?

The black bag?
No, I'm just a businessman.

Here looking
at some properties.

Oh, I see.

Go and play
with Beeley.

MERVIN: Maude...

Maude...
(GIGGLING) Oh!

Um...
Excuse me, sir.

I'm terribly sorry.
I've just spoken to Higgins.

He insists I come
to Denver tonight.

Tonight?

Now, precious,
there's nothing I can do. You know that.

I've just got time
to catch the train.

Oh, no...
Please forgive me.

I'll see you tomorrow.
I promise.

Oh, this is the end!

I mean it!

That's the last time
that man's gonna run out on me!

Are you all right?

(GASPING)

Would you take me home?

Please?
Of course.

Thank you.

I just feel
so ashamed.

Surely not for crying?

It seems to me
you're certainly entitled to a few tears.

I mean, but I have no right
to put my burdens on your shoulders.

Oh, I think
they're broad enough.

Yes, they certainly
seem to be.

Oh, Mr. Sorenson...

Maude,

I'm back!

I missed the train.

(EXCLAIMS)

Be still, man.
For God's sake, nothing's happened.

"Be still"!
What earthly right have you got to tell me to be still?

You wait
until my back is turned, you creep into my house...

There isn't a judge or jury
who wouldn't honor me for killing you!

Sir...

The old badger game.
I should have known.

I must be getting silly
in my old age

not to see through
an act like yours.

You're very good.

Now, we'll see
what your sheriff has to say about this.

Mervin?

Now, sir,
just one moment.

Put that down, you fool,
I've had enough.

Sir, I'll have...
Maude!

He's breathing,
isn't he?

No.

Oh, my God,
we'll hang.

They won't hang us.

MAUDE: Nobody knows he's here.

We'll bury him.

What?

We'll put him
in the well.

That's the first place
they'll look.

Philip?

Dad, I tried to
tell you at the party.

Sheriff Dumire knows what
you did to the minister.

So the minute
he finds out you were dancing with this man,

he's gonna be out here.

He's gonna be looking down
that well and he's gonna be digging up that cellar.

Philip, how did you know
about the minister?

I guessed.

I knew he didn't give us
this house for nothing.

Oh, dear God.
What are we gonna do?

What are we gonna do?

What have we done
to this poor boy?

Mervin, be quiet!
He won't collapse.

He's his mother's son.

Aren't you, dearest?

I guess I must be.

'Cause I know
where we can hide him.

In the creek?
It won't work.

Yes, it will.
Now come on.

They'll know
he didn't drown.

Someone's bound
to remember he left with me.

Look, nobody
will ever find him.

Come, come on.
Phillip, come.

Come.

(SOBBING)

Where? Where did you hide him?

Cave.

Some beavers made it,
I guess.

It was my secret
hiding place.

Now, I guess it...
Now, I guess it's got to be ours, huh?

Mervin.

Look! Look!

It was in his black bag!
It's a fortune!

Five and a half
thousand dollars!

(BOTH LAUGHING)

Do you know what this means?
Do you know what this means?

It means we can
go to Europe. It means we can invest.

We can have a business.
We can have a theater.

No.

Maude?
Not yet.

What are you talking about?
Sheriff Dumire.

He'd want to know
where we got the money from.

We're going to be
very patient.

We're gonna quit
the badger games.

We'll take on extra work,
all of us, even Philip.

And then,

when the time comes,

we'll be able to
invest our savings.

Dumire again.

He's always the fly
in the ointment.

MERVIN: What if
he finds the body?

He won't.

SIDNEY:
That's how it happened.

Dumire knew it,
and that's how it happened.

But he could never prove it.

Nobody could prove it.

Lew, you know
what you found?

A piece of the past.

Maybe a piece
of the future.

How's that?
Morgan Wendell.

If the rest of that skeleton
could be found, then...

Aw, damn. Damn.

What?

Well, I wanted
to use this for our story.

But I think we should
leak it to the papers first

so it comes out
just before the election.

Why?

To stop Wendell!

Morgan Wendell hasn't
done anything wrong.

He represents everything
that's wrong in this country.

His family made a fortune
on other people's misfortunes and their miseries.

Their land development scheme
at Line Camp was enough to...

Well, that's information
that you should get from other people.

I just think that we should
do something about what we're sitting on.

Wait a minute.
What I'm sitting on.

Lew, that's evidence.

Have you ever heard
of the statute of limitations?

I'm not trying to send
anybody to prison.

What are you trying?
Blackmail?

Character
assassination?

A smear campaign?

Lew...
I shouldn't let you take this to New York.

Oh, you just try
and stop me.

Rattlesnake Cliffs.

It's too bad they can't
talk into your recorder.

They've seen things
no man's ever seen,

and right over there
is where the first American dinosaur was found.

Huh.

Diplodocus.

Professor from Harvard
dug it out

in about, now,
1875, I guess.

It was about two miles up
beyond the cliffs,

that's where they found
the Clovis points,

about 1935.

They proved that man
had been here at least 11,000 years.

We'll ride out
there tomorrow.

Maxwell Mercy wrote about
those cliffs in his journal.

Is this where it happened?

We're flying over
Lost Eagle's camp right now.

That was a camp
with no warriors and no weapons.

PAUL: Over there
at about 10:00 is where the Colorado state militia

sat waiting
for the sun to come up.

Colonel.

Captain, everything
in order here?

Ready and waiting, sir.

I trust you grasp
the importance of your position?

You're not to let
one single redskin

slip through
these lines.

I understand, sir.

Will they be
heavily armed?

Armed?

They're Indians.
Shoot them down.

Of course, sir.

What I meant to say was

will they be mounting
an attack in my direction?

Captain McIntosh,
listen to me.

When those cannons fire,
there's gonna be a great deal of confusion.

I intend to compound that
in the center.

In all that confusion,

many of those Indians
are gonna attempt to run off in your direction.

And it's your duty
to gun them down.

All of them.

(HORSE SNUFFLING)
I do hope you understand.

Yes, sir.

SKIMMERHORN:
We can't let them live to fight another day.

It'll be sunrise soon.

Gentlemen, we're engaged
in a great venture.

We have it in our power
to make this glorious nation

safe forever
from these predators.

God is on our side.

Remember that always.

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