All language subtitles for The West - s01e06 - Fight No More Forever (1874-1877)

THE FIRST WHITE MEN OF YOUR
PEOPLE WHO CAME TO OUR COUNTRY

WERE NAMED LEWIS AND CLARK.

ALL THE NEZ PERCE MADE FRIENDS
WITH LEWIS AND CLARK

AND AGREED TO LET THEM PASS
THROUGH THEIR COUNTRY,

AND NEVER TO MAKE WAR
ON WHITE MEN.

THIS PROMISE THE NEZ PERCE
HAVE NEVER BROKEN.

IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN
THE PRIDE OF THE NEZ PERCE

THAT THEY WERE THE FRIENDS
OF THE WHITE MAN --

CHIEF JOSEPH.

Narrator: IN 1871,
AN AGING NEZ PERCE CHIEF

SUMMONED ONE OF HIS SONS,
HIN-MAH-TOO-YAH-LAT-KEKHT,

ALSO CALLED JOSEPH,
TO HIS DEATH BED.

THEIR HOMELAND

IN THE WALLOWA COUNTRY
OF NORTHEASTERN OREGON

WAS BEING OVERWHELMED
BY WHITE SETTLERS.

AFTER THREE-QUARTERS
OF A CENTURY

OF UNBROKEN PEACE
WITH THE UNITED STATES,

THE NEZ PERCE FELT BETRAYED.

ALTHOUGH THE GOVERNMENT CLAIMED

THE TREATY PERMITTED
THE NEW SETTLEMENTS,

JOSEPH’S BAND HAD NEVER SIGNED
THAT TREATY,

AND INSISTED THE LAND
STILL BELONGED TO THEM.

MY FATHER WAS THE FIRST
TO SEE THROUGH THE SCHEMES

OF THE WHITE MEN.

HE SAID, "MY SON,
WHEN I AM GONE,

"YOU ARE THE CHIEF
OF THESE PEOPLE.

"ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOUR
FATHER NEVER SOLD HIS COUNTRY.

"YOU MUST STOP YOUR EARS

"WHENEVER YOU ARE ASKED TO SIGN
A TREATY SELLING YOUR HOME.

"MY SON, NEVER FORGET
MY DYING WORDS.

"THIS COUNTRY HOLDS
YOUR FATHER’S BODY.

NEVER SELL THE BONES
OF YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER."

I PRESSED MY FATHER’S HAND

AND TOLD HIM I WOULD PROTECT
HIS GRAVE WITH MY LIFE.

A MAN WHO WOULD NOT LOVE
HIS FATHER’S GRAVE

IS WORSE THAN A WILD ANIMAL --

CHIEF JOSEPH.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

[ MORE VOICES
ADDED TO CHANTING ]

[ DRUM BEATS,
CHANTING CONTINUES ]

Narrator:
BY 1874, RAILROADS HAD BROUGHT

MILLIONS OF SETTLERS
TO THE WEST,

OPENING UP NEW LANDS
FOR HOMESTEADERS,

ELIMINATING THE GREAT BUFFALO
HERDS FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS,

CHANGING FOREVER
THE LIVES OF THOSE

WHO CALLED THE WEST THEIR HOME.

AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
BEGAN CONSOLIDATING ITS CONTROL

OVER THE ENTIRE REGION
AS IT NEVER HAD BEFORE.

BY 1874, WASHINGTON HAD MOUNTED
STILL ANOTHER ASSAULT

ON THE MORMONS WHO HAD SOUGHT
SANCTUARY IN UTAH.

AND THE PROPHET
WHO HAD BROUGHT THEM THERE

WOULD BE FORCED TO CHOOSE
BETWEEN SAVING HIS CHURCH

OR SACRIFICING
HIS SPIRITUAL SON.

BY 1874, THE GOVERNMENT
HAD FORCED THE CAYUSE,

MIWOK AND YOKUT,
THE UTE AND COUR D’ALENE,

THE MODOC, THE PAIUTE, SHOSHONE,
AND NAVAJO TO SURRENDER.

MOST TRIBES WERE OFFICIALLY
CONFINED TO RESERVATIONS NOW,

DEPENDENT FOR THEIR SURVIVAL

ON GOVERNMENT RATIONS
THAT OFTEN DID NOT ARRIVE,

AND ON THE WHIMS
OF GOVERNMENT AGENTS

WHO OFTEN DID NOT CARE.

BUT A FEW BANDS HELD OUT,

CONVINCED THEY COULD STILL LIVE
AS THEY WISHED SOMEHOW

IN A WEST THAT HAD
ALREADY BEEN TRANSFORMED.

BETWEEN 1874 AND 1877,

THEY WOULD MAKE THEIR LAST STAND
TO REMAIN FREE.

[ DRUMS BEAT ]

A LAKOTA MEDICINE MAN,

WHO SAW THE AMERICANS
AS HIS MORTAL ENEMIES,

BECAME A SYMBOL
OF ARMED RESISTANCE

AND WOULD WIN THE GREATEST
VICTORY OF THE INDIAN WARS...

ONLY TO BRING DOWN
UPON HIS PEOPLE

THE WRATH OF AN AVENGING NATION,

WHILE A NEZ PERCE CHIEF,
WHO HAD STRUGGLED ALL HIS LIFE

TO MAINTAIN PEACE WITH WHITES,

WOULD FIND HIMSELF
HELPING TO LEAD

ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY
MILITARY CAMPAIGNS

IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

TO DEFEAT THEM, THE GOVERNMENT
WOULD CALL ON AN UNLIKELY ARMY

MADE UP OF IMMIGRANTS,
FUGITIVES, SOCIAL OUTCASTS,

AND A DASHING YOUNG HERO
OF THE CIVIL WAR

WHO CAME WEST PURSUING A VISION
OF HIS OWN INVINCIBILITY

ONLY TO CONFRONT AN ENEMY

WHOSE VISIONS WOULD PROVE
EVEN STRONGER.

I NEVER TAUGHT MY PEOPLE
TO TRUST AMERICANS.

I HAVE TOLD THEM THE TRUTH --

THAT THE AMERICANS
ARE GREAT LIARS.

I HAVE NEVER DEALT
WITH THE AMERICANS.

WHY SHOULD I?

THE LAND
BELONGED TO MY PEOPLE --

SITTING BULL.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

[ THUNDER RUMBLES ]

Man: IT IS SUCH AN UNLIKELY
PLACE IN THE LANDSCAPE.

IT IS AN ISLAND.

AND IT’S THERE IN THIS VASTNESS
OF THE GREAT PLAINS.

BUT IT IS RICH.

IT IS FULL OF TIMBER,
FULL OF GAME.

IT’S A PLACE
WHERE THUNDER RESOUNDS,

MORE THAN IN OTHER PLACES,

AND SO IT’S THOUGHT TO BE
THE PLACE OF THE DEITIES.

WHEN YOU SEE THE BLACK HILLS,

YOU UNDERSTAND SOMETHING ABOUT
THE SPIRITUAL ASPECT OF IT.

YOU ENJOYED
THE WEALTH OF THE LAND THERE.

AND AT THE SAME TIME,
YOU RESTORED YOURSELF,

NOT ONLY PHYSICALLY,
BUT SPIRITUALLY.

Narrator: IN THE SUMMER OF 1874,
MORE THAN 1,000 SOLDIERS,

100 WAGONS, 61 ARIKARA SCOUTS,
AND 3 NEWSPAPERMEN

MARCHED OUT OF
FORT ABRAHAM LINCOLN,

IN THE DAKOTA TERRITORY,
AND STARTED SOUTHWEST

STRAIGHT INTO THE BLACK HILLS --

AN AREA THE LAKOTA
CONSIDERED SACRED GROUND.

OFFICIALLY, THE SOLDIERS
WERE LOOKING FOR A SITE

ON WHICH TO BUILD A FORT

SO THAT THEY COULD KEEP AN EYE
ON THE LAKOTA.

UNOFFICIALLY,
THEY WERE LOOKING FOR GOLD.

I SAY THAT OUR OBJECT
IS A PEACEFUL ONE

BUT I HAVE NO IDEA
THAT OUR TRIP WILL BE.

THE INDIANS
HAVE LONG OPPOSED

ALL EFFORTS OF WHITE MEN
TO ENTER THE BLACK HILLS,

BUT I HAVE
A WELL-EQUIPPED FORCE

STRONG ENOUGH
TO TAKE CARE OF ITSELF --

GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER.

Narrator: AT THE HEAD
OF THE EXPEDITION

RODE THE ARMY’S
MOST CELEBRATED INDIAN FIGHTER,

THE COMMANDER
OF THE SEVENTH CAVALRY,

GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER.

AN OHIO BLACKSMITH’S SON

WHO WAS GRADUATED AT THE BOTTOM
OF HIS CLASS AT WEST POINT,

AT 23 HE HAD BECOME THE YOUNGEST
GENERAL IN THE UNION ARMY.

IMPULSIVE AND HIGH-SPIRITED,

HE HAD LED THE CHARGE
AGAINST THE CONFEDERATES

AT GETTYSBURG, WINCHESTER,
FIVE FORKS.

ELEVEN HORSES HAD BEEN
SHOT OUT FROM UNDER HIM.

Custer: OH, COULD YOU HAVE
BUT SEEN

SOME OF THE CHARGES
WE MADE!

I GAVE THE COMMAND,
"FORWARD!"

AND I NEVER EXPECT
TO SEE A PRETTIER SIGHT.

WHILE THINKING OF THEM
I CANNOT BUT EXCLAIM,

"GLORIOUS WAR!"

Narrator: HIS JUDGMENT WOULD
OFTEN BE CALLED INTO QUESTION.

BUT NO ONE EVER QUESTIONED
HIS HEADLONG COURAGE.

Man: HE WAS A SELF-PROMOTER.

HE WAS A MAN
WHO RODE TO THE TOP

OVER THE BACKS
OF FALLEN COMRADES.

NOT THAT HE DIDN’T TAKE
THE RISKS THAT THEY DID,

BUT HE WAS TAKING THOSE RISKS

SO THAT HE COULD GET
PROMOTION FOR HIMSELF,

AND A LOT OF MEN FELL

BECAUSE CUSTER WAS LEADING THEM
INTO SITUATIONS

THAT HE SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN
LEADING THEM INTO.

Narrator:
ONCE HE’D COME WEST,

CUSTER DESIGNED FOR HIMSELF
A DISTINCTIVE COSTUME

MEANT TO CATCH THE EYE
OF VISITING NEWSPAPERMEN.

THE CHEYENNE ESPECIALLY ADMIRED
THE WAY HE LOOKED

AND BEGAN TO CALL HIM
"YELLOW HAIR."

BUT DURING HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN
AGAINST THEM IN 1867,

HIS CAREER HAD VERY NEARLY
COME TO AN END.

OUT HUNTING ONE DAY
WITH HIS HOUNDS,

FAR FROM HIS COLUMN AND
IN THE HEART OF INDIAN COUNTRY,

HE GALLOPED AFTER A BUFFALO,
AIMED HIS REVOLVER...

[ GUNSHOT ]

...AND SOMEHOW SHOT
HIS OWN HORSE THROUGH THE HEAD.

Ambrose: THE HORSE DID A FLIP,
AND HE DID A FLIP,

AND HE CAME UP ON HIS FEET.

NOW HERE HE WAS ALL ALONE
OUT IN THE PRAIRIE

IN THE MIDDLE
OF HOSTILE TERRITORY,

SUPPOSEDLY ON AN EXPEDITION
AGAINST HOSTILE INDIANS,

HAVING SHOT HIS HORSE
IN THE HEAD

ON A FOOL CHASE AFTER A BUFFALO.

Narrator: ON FOOT, BRUISED,
AND TOTALLY LOST,

HE HAD TO BE RESCUED
BY HIS OWN MEN.

THEN, IN 1868, HE MOUNTED
A SURPRISE ATTACK

ON BLACK KETTLE’S CHEYENNE
ON THE WASHITA

THAT ESTABLISHED HIS REPUTATION
AS AN INDIAN FIGHTER

AND MADE HIM A HERO
IN THE NEWSPAPERS.

NOW, CUSTER AND HIS SOLDIERS

HAD RIDDEN RIGHT INTO THE HEART
OF THE BLACK HILLS,

THE LAKOTA’S MOST PRIZED
HUNTING GROUND.

Custer: AUGUST 15, 1874.

WE HAVE DISCOVERED
A RICH AND BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY.

WE HAVE BEEN IN AND THROUGH
THE BLACK HILLS,

AND I HAVE THE PROUD
SATISFACTION OF KNOWING

THAT OUR EXPLORATIONS
HAVE EXCEEDED

THE MOST SANGUINE EXPECTATIONS.

AND I HAVE REACHED THE HUNTER’S
HIGHEST ROUND OF FAME.

I HAVE KILLED MY GRIZZLY.

Narrator: CUSTER’S MEN FISHED,
HUNTED, PLAYED BASEBALL,

AND THEY FOUND GOLD --

NOT A REAL BONANZA,
BUT ENOUGH TO PERSUADE THEM

TO LINE UP SHOULDER TO SHOULDER
ALONG THE CREEK

TO TRY THEIR LUCK AT PANNING.

MORE THAN ENOUGH TO INSPIRE
WILD-EYED STORIES IN THE PRESS

OF PAY DIRT
FROM THE GRASS ROOTS DOWN.

FROM EVERY CORNER
OF THE COUNTRY,

GOLD-HUNGRY WHITES POURED IN.

THEY WOULD SOON BANG TOGETHER
A DOZEN MINING CAMPS --

DEADWOOD, BLACKTAIL...

GOLDEN GATE...

AND CUSTER CITY.

BUT THE MINER’S INVASION

VIOLATED THE FORT LARAMIE TREATY
OF 1868,

SIGNED BY THE LAKOTA
AND THE UNITED STATES

AFTER YEARS OF COSTLY WARFARE
ON THE NORTHERN PLAINS.

IN THE TREATY, THE LAKOTA AGREED
TO STOP HARASSING TRAVELERS,

RAIDING SETTLERS,
ATTACKING ARMY UNITS.

IN EXCHANGE, THE UNITED STATES
PROMISED THE LAKOTA

THAT THE BLACK HILLS
WOULD BE THEIRS FOREVER.

Momaday: SO MANY TIMES,
THE INDIANS WERE PROMISED

THAT THEY COULD KEEP THE LAND,

AND SO MANY TIMES
THOSE PROMISES WERE BROKEN.

I DON’T THINK THEY WERE NAIVE.

I THINK THAT THE INDIANS

UNDERSTOOD THE MEANING
OF THE TREATIES

AND WANTED VERY MUCH
TO LIVE BY THEM.

BUT MANY OF THE TREATIES
CAME TO NOTHING,

AND SO THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT
WAS ONE OF DISTRUST, BETRAYAL.

Narrator: THE WHITES WHO
FOLLOWED CUSTER’S PATH

INTO THE BLACK HILLS
CALLED IT THE "FREEDOM TRAIL."

THE LAKOTA CALLED IT
THE "THIEVES’ ROAD."

EITHER WAY,
IT WOULD LEAD TO DISASTER.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

I WILL REMAIN WHAT I AM
UNTIL I DIE -- A HUNTER.

AND WHEN THERE ARE
NO BUFFALO OR OTHER GAME

I WILL SEND MY CHILDREN TO
HUNT AND LIVE ON PRAIRIE MICE,

FOR WHERE AN INDIAN
IS SHUT UP IN ONE PLACE

HIS BODY BECOMES WEAK --

SITTING BULL.

Narrator:
THE LAKOTA HAD MANY LEADERS --

BLACK MOON, FOUR HORNS,
GALL, CRAZY HORSE,

BUT THE MAN TO WHOM
EVEN THESE VETERAN FIGHTERS

NOW LOOKED FOR GUIDANCE
WAS SITTING BULL,

A CHIEF AND HOLY MAN

WHO WAS DETERMINED NEVER
TO RELINQUISH THE BLACK HILLS.

THEIR BANDS STILL HUNTED
THE REMAINING BUFFALO HERDS

ON THE NORTHERN PLAINS,

AND SITTING BULL SCORNED
THOSE INDIANS --

FROM OTHER TRIBES AND HIS OWN --
WHO HAD MOVED CLOSE TO AGENCIES

AND DEPENDED ON THE GOVERNMENT
TO FEED THEM.

Sitting Bull: LOOK AT ME!

SEE IF I AM POOR,
OR MY PEOPLE, EITHER.

THE WHITES MAY GET ME AT LAST,
AS YOU SAY,

BUT I WILL HAVE GOOD TIMES
TILL THEN.

YOU ARE FOOLS
TO MAKE YOURSELVES SLAVES

TO A PIECE OF FAT BACON,
SOME HARDTACK,

AND A LITTLE SUGAR AND COFFEE.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

Narrator: SITTING BULL
WAS BORN ABOUT 1831

AT A PLACE THE LAKOTA CALLED
"MANY CACHES,"

BECAUSE OF THE PITS FOR STORING
FOOD THEY HAD DUG THERE,

AND HE WOULD DEVOTE
MUCH OF HIS LIFE

SIMPLY TO INSURING THAT HIS
PEOPLE HAD ENOUGH TO EAT.

NO ONE HAD EARNED A
GREATER REPUTATION FOR BRAVERY.

HE COUNTED HIS FIRST COUP
AT 14,

DURING A RAID ON THE CROW,

AND LED THE "STRONG HEART
WARRIOR SOCIETY,"

WHOSE MEMBERS CAME TO ASCRIBE
THEIR TRIUMPHS IN BATTLE

TO THE EXTRAORDINARY POWER
OF HIS VISIONS.

IN THE MIDST OF A BATTLE

WITH SOLDIERS
GUARDING A RAILROAD CREW

ON THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER
IN 1872,

HE AND FOUR OTHER WARRIORS
STROLLED OUT BETWEEN THE LINES.

SITTING BULL CALMLY SAT DOWN.

WITH THE BULLETS PATTERING
ALL AROUND HIM,

HE FILLED HIS PIPE, SMOKED IT,

PASSED IT BACK AND FORTH
TO HIS COMPANIONS

UNTIL THE BOWL WAS EMPTY.

THEN, HE REAMED IT OUT
AND WALKED AWAY.

[ GUNSHOT ]

HIS LAKOTA NAME,
TATANKA-IYOTANKA,

DESCRIBED AN INTRACTABLE
BUFFALO BULL,

SITTING ON ITS HAUNCHES,
RESOLUTE IN THE FACE OF DANGER.

Woman: SITTING BULL WAS
ONE OF THOSE MEN

WHO DURING HIS LIFE
WAS AN EPITOME

OF EVERYTHING A LAKOTA MAN
WOULD WANT TO BE.

YOUNG MEN WOULD FOLLOW HIM

HOPING THAT IT WOULD
STILL BE POSSIBLE SOMEHOW

TO REMAIN IN SOME HOMELAND,
SOME LAKOTA HOMELAND,

IN WHICH
THEY REALLY WOULD BE FREE.

Narrator:
BY THE WINTER OF 1875,

SOME 15,000 MINERS HAD CROWDED
INTO THE BLACK HILLS.

UNDER THE FORT LARAMIE TREATY,

IT WAS THE ARMY’S TASK
TO DRIVE THE PROSPECTORS OUT.

BUT THEIR GROWING NUMBERS
MADE IT POLITICALLY IMPOSSIBLE.

ANOTHER SOLUTION
HAD TO BE FOUND.

A SENATE COMMISSION WAS SENT
WEST TO RENEGOTIATE THE TREATY,

AND SOME 20,000 LAKOTA
CAME TO MEET WITH THEM.

THE COMMISSION WAS PREPARED
TO OFFER $6 MILLION

FOR THE BLACK HILLS,

BUT THE LAKOTA
WANTED A SUM LARGE ENOUGH

SO THAT THEIR PEOPLE
COULD LIVE OFF IT FOREVER.

SITTING BULL, CRAZY HORSE,
AND OTHER DEFIANT WARRIORS

STAYED AWAY FROM THE COUNCIL
ENTIRELY,

UNWILLING EVEN TO DISCUSS A SALE
OF THEIR MOST SACRED PLACE.

I WANT TO HUNT IN THIS PLACE.

I WANT YOU
TO TURN BACK FROM HERE.

I WANT YOU TO LEAVE
WHAT YOU HAVE GOT HERE

AND TURN BACK.

IF YOU DON’T,
I’LL FIGHT YOU --

SITTING BULL.

Narrator: WASHINGTON DECIDED
TO CLAMP DOWN,

AND ORDERED ALL THE CHIEFS

TO COME INTO
THE RESERVATION HEADQUARTERS

BY JANUARY 31, 1876.

WHEN SITTING BULL
AND THE OTHERS REFUSED,

GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER

AND A LARGE PART
OF THE U.S. ARMY IN THE WEST

WERE ORDERED TO BRING THEM IN.

Man: I AM NOW WEARING TWO
FLANNEL AND A BUCKSKIN SHIRT,

ONE PAIR OF DRAWERS,
TROUSERS OF BUCKSKIN

AND A PAIR OF ARMY TROUSERS,
TWO PAIRS WOOLEN SOCKS,

A PAIR OF BUFFALO OVERSHOES
AND BIG BOOTS,

A HEAVY PAIR
OF BLANKET LEGGINGS,

A THICK BLOUSE
AND HEAVY OVERCOAT,

A HEAVY WOOLEN CAP

THAT COMPLETELY COVERS
MY HEAD, FACE, AND NECK

EXCEPT NOSE AND EYES,
AND STILL I AM NOT HAPPY.

Narrator: THE UNITED STATES ARMY
HAD AN IMPOSSIBLE JOB --

POLICING SOME 2 1/2 MILLION
SQUARE MILES OF LAND

BETWEEN THE MISSOURI AND THE
EASTERN SLOPE OF THE SIERRAS.

THERE WERE NEVER MORE THAN
15,000 MEN

SCATTERED AMONG 100 FORTS
AND OUTPOSTS,

YET THEY WERE SOMEHOW EXPECTED
TO DEFEND SETTLERS, RANCHERS,

MINERS, AND RAILROAD CREWS,

KEEP THOUSANDS OF INDIANS
CONFINED TO THEIR RESERVATIONS,

AND KEEP TENS OF THOUSANDS
OF WHITES OUT OF INDIAN LANDS.

EVEN THOUGH ARMY PAY WAS LOW --
JUST $13 A MONTH --

STEADY JOBS WERE SCARCE

DURING THE ECONOMIC SLUMP
THAT FOLLOWED THE CIVIL WAR.

Man: I WAS A BOY
DURING THE CIVIL WAR.

THERE WAS AN ARMY CAMP NEAR

AND I GUESS I SOAKED IN
SOME OF THE GAME,

FOR LATER, EVERY TIME
I GOT SPIFLICATED

I WANTED TO ENLIST.

I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE LIKE
THE VOLUNTEERS

DURING THE CIVIL WAR,
BUT I FOUND OUT THE MISTAKE.

THE REGULAR ARMY WAS
A TOUGH BUNCH IN THOSE DAYS.

Narrator: ARMY RANKS
WERE FILLED WITH IMMIGRANTS,

SOME OF WHOM COULD SPEAK
ALMOST NO ENGLISH.

THERE WERE DRIFTERS, TOO,
MEN WITH ASSUMED NAMES,

MEN ESCAPING BAD MARRIAGES...
OR THE LAW.

SOME OF THE RECRUITS
I JOINED WITH

HAD NO DOUBT SERVED
IN SOME PENITENTIARY

BEFORE ENLISTING,
AND I SHOULDN’T WONDER

THAT SOME WENT BACK
TO THEIR OLD PRISONS

AS A HAVEN OF REST
AND DECENT TREATMENT --

PRIVATE C.C. CHRISMAN,
13th INFANTRY.

Narrator: BOREDOM WAS ALL
THE MEN COULD DEPEND UPON --

THREE TO FIVE YEARS OF IT.

THEY QUARRELED, DRANK, PITTED
RED ANTS AGAINST BLACK ANTS

JUST TO STIR THINGS UP.

AND THEY LIVED
FOR NEWS FROM HOME.

Man: WHAT WOULD OUR LIVES BE
WITHOUT MAIL?

A NULLITY, A VOID, A HATED,
WEARY BURDEN OF NOTHINGNESS.

IT IS
THE ONLY CONNECTING LINK

BETWEEN US
AND CIVILIZATION,

BETWEEN THE DREARY MONOTONY
OF THE PRESENT

AND THE EXCITING PLEASURES
OF THE PAST,

THE ONE SOLE OASIS
IN THE DESERT OF OUR LIVES.

Narrator: ARMY FOOD
WAS ALMOST ALWAYS UNPALATABLE,

SOMETIMES INEDIBLE.

HARDTACK --
FLOUR AND WATER BISCUITS --

DELIVERED TO THE SEVENTH CAVALRY

WAS SIX YEARS OLD, AND HAD
TO BE SHATTERED WITH A HAMMER.

WHISKEY
WAS THE SOLDIER’S CURSE --

FORTY MEN OUT OF EVERY THOUSAND

WERE HOSPITALIZED
FOR ALCOHOLISM.

TWICE AS MANY KILLED THEMSELVES.

BUT DISEASE WAS THE WORST
KILLER.

IN JUST TWO YEARS,

THE SEVENTH CAVALRY
LOST 51 MEN TO CHOLERA.

MOST SOLDIERS
NEVER MET AN INDIAN IN BATTLE.

SOME NEVER SAW AN INDIAN AT ALL.

DAKOTA TERRITORY,
MARCH 5, 1876.

DEAR SISTER,

I THINK WE WILL HAVE
SOME HARD TIMES THIS SUMMER.

THE OLD CHIEF, SITTING BULL,

SAYS THAT HE WILL NOT
MAKE PEACE WITH THE WHITES

AS LONG AS HE HAS
A MAN TO FIGHT.

AS SOON AS I GET BACK
FROM THE CAMPAIGN

I WILL WRITE YOU.

THAT IS, IF I DO NOT GET
MY HAIR LIFTED BY SOME INDIAN.

FROM YOUR LOVING BROTHER --

T.P. EAGAN,
SEVENTH CAVALRY.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

Narrator: SOMETIME
IN THE EARLY SPRING OF 1876,

SITTING BULL CLIMBED
TO A HILLTOP, SEEKING A VISION.

IN HIS DREAM,
A GREAT DUST STORM SWIRLED DOWN

UPON A SMALL, WHITE CLOUD
THAT RESEMBLED A LAKOTA VILLAGE.

THROUGH THE WHIRLWIND,

SITTING BULL COULD SEE
SOLDIERS MARCHING.

THE LITTLE CLOUD
WAS SWALLOWED UP FOR A TIME,

BUT THE STORM
EVENTUALLY DISSIPATED,

AND THE VILLAGE
EMERGED UNHARMED.

IT WAS AN ENCOURAGING DREAM,

AND IN THE SPRING OF 1876,
THE LAKOTA NEEDED ENCOURAGEMENT.

HUMANITARIANS MAY WEEP
FOR THE POOR INDIAN

AND TELL THE WRONGS
HE HAS SUFFERED,

BUT HE IS PASSING AWAY.

THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
NEED THE COUNTRY

THE INDIANS NOW OCCUPY.

MANY OF OUR PEOPLE
ARE OUT OF EMPLOYMENT.

THE MASSES
NEED SOME NEW EXCITEMENT.

AN INDIAN WAR
WOULD DO NO HARM,

FOR IT MUST COME
SOONER OR LATER --

MARK KELLOGG,
"BISMARCK TRIBUNE."

Narrator:
IN HIS OFFICE IN CHICAGO,

GENERAL PHILIP SHERIDAN
HAD ALREADY DRAWN UP A PLAN

THAT WOULD SEND
THREE COLUMNS OF SOLDIERS

TO DRIVE SITTING BULL
AND THE OTHER DEFIANT CHIEFS

ONTO THE RESERVATIONS.

ONE COLUMN, LED BY
BRIGADIER GENERAL GEORGE CROOK,

WAS TO MOVE NORTH
FROM FORT FETTERMAN.

ANOTHER,
UNDER COLONEL JOHN GIBBON,

WAS TO MARCH EAST
FROM WESTERN MONTANA.

THE THIRD, COMMANDED BY
GENERAL ALFRED TERRY,

MARCHED WEST
FROM FORT ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WITH HIM WENT
THE 566 ENLISTED MEN

AND 31 OFFICERS
OF THE SEVENTH CAVALRY,

LED BY GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER.

THEY MOVED OUT TO THE TUNE
OF "THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME."

GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER,

DRESSED IN A DASHING SUIT
OF BUCKSKIN,

IS PROMINENT EVERYWHERE.

THE GENERAL IS FULL
OF PERFECT READINESS

FOR A FRAY
WITH THE HOSTILE RED DEVILS,

AND WOE TO THE BODY
OF SCALP-LIFTERS

THAT COMES WITHIN REACH
OF HIMSELF

AND BRAVE COMPANIONS
IN ARMS --

"BISMARCK TRIBUNE."

Narrator:
NONE OF THE COMMANDERS

KNEW PRECISELY WHERE SITTING
BULL AND HIS FOLLOWERS WERE,

BUT THEY WERE CONFIDENT
THAT ONE COLUMN OR ANOTHER

WOULD FIND AND DESTROY THEM.

Narrator: ON JUNE 6,
SOME 3,000 LAKOTA AND CHEYENNE

WERE CAMPED ALONG
ROSEBUD CREEK IN MONTANA.

THERE, THEY HELD
THEIR MOST SACRED RITUAL --

A SUN DANCE --

IN WHICH PRAYERS WERE OFFERED
AND VOWS MADE TO WAKAN TANKA,

THEIR GREAT SPIRIT.

SITTING BULL SLASHED HIS ARMS
100 TIMES

AS A SIGN OF SACRIFICE.

THEN HE HAD ANOTHER VISION.

THE SOLDIERS CAME AGAIN
TO ATTACK HIS PEOPLE --

"AS MANY AS GRASSHOPPERS,"
HE SAID,

BUT THIS TIME
THEY WERE UPSIDE DOWN,

THEIR HORSE’S HOOVES IN THE AIR,

THEIR HATS
TUMBLING TO THE GROUND

AS THEY RODE
INTO THE LAKOTA CAMP.

Man:
HE HAS THIS TREMENDOUS VISION

THAT HE TELLS THE PEOPLE ABOUT

THAT THE SOLDIERS ARE GOING
TO FALL INTO THE CAMP

AND THAT THERE’S GOING TO BE
THIS GREAT VICTORY.

AND ARMED WITH THIS VISION,

THE WARRIORS GO OUT
LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY TO FIGHT.

Narrator:
ON THE MORNING OF JUNE 17,

GENERAL CROOK’S COLUMN
HAD STOPPED TO BREW COFFEE

ON THE BANK OF THE ROSEBUD,

SURE THAT NO INDIANS
WOULD DARE ATTACK

SO LARGE A FORCE AS THEIRS.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

SUDDENLY, CRAZY HORSE
AND MORE THAN 500 SIOUX

AND CHEYENNE WARRIORS
RODE DOWN UPON THEM.

SITTING BULL’S ARMS WERE TOO
SWOLLEN FROM THE SUN DANCE

TO FIGHT, BUT HE URGED
THE YOUNG MEN INTO BATTLE.

CROOK’S COMMAND INCLUDED
CROW AND SHOSHONE SCOUTS

EAGER TO FIGHT THEIR ENEMIES
THE CHEYENNE AND LAKOTA

WHO HAD ONCE TAKEN THEIR LANDS.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

IN THE FIERCE, DESPERATE FIGHT
THAT FOLLOWED,

THE INDIAN SCOUTS
TWICE RESCUED THE SOLDIERS

BY RIDING THROUGH
THE LAKOTA AND CHEYENNE RANKS.

UNNERVED
BY THE ENEMY SHOW OF FORCE,

CROOK WITHDREW THE NEXT MORNING.

THE LAKOTA AND CHEYENNE MOVED
NORTH AND FORMED A NEW CAMP

WHERE FOR SIX DAYS
THEY CELEBRATED THEIR VICTORY

ALONG A WINDING STREAM
THEY CALLED "THE GREASY GRASS."

WHITES CALLED IT
"THE LITTLE BIGHORN."

Narrator: ON JUNE 21, CUSTER
MET ON THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER

WITH COLONEL GIBBON
AND THEIR SUPERIOR,

BRIGADIER GENERAL ALFRED TERRY.

THEY KNEW NOTHING
OF CROOK’S RETREAT.

TERRY ORDERED GIBBON TO MARCH TO
THE MOUTH OF THE LITTLE BIGHORN,

WHILE CUSTER
AND THE SEVENTH CAVALRY --

IF THEY COULD LOCATE
THE INDIANS --

WOULD DRIVE THEM DOWN THE VALLEY
TOWARD GIBBON AND ANNIHILATION.

AS CUSTER ROAD OFF,
GIBBON CALLED OUT TO HIM,

"NOW, CUSTER, DON’T BE GREEDY.
WAIT FOR US."

"NO," HE SAID, "I WILL NOT."

Custer: I NOW HAVE
SOME CROW SCOUTS WITH ME.

THEY ARE
MAGNIFICENT-LOOKING MEN,

SO MUCH HANDSOMER
AND MORE INDIAN-LIKE

THAN ANY WE HAVE EVER SEEN.

AND JOLLY AND SPORTIVE --

NOTHING OF THE GLOOMY,
SILENT RED MAN ABOUT THEM.

THEY SAID THEY HAD HEARD
THAT I NEVER ABANDONED A TRAIL,

THAT WHEN MY FOOD GAVE OUT
I ATE MULE.

THAT WAS THE KIND OF MAN
THEY WANTED TO FIGHT UNDER.

THEY WERE WILLING
TO EAT MULE, TOO.

Man:
I KNOW FIVE OF THOSE SCOUTS,

THEY WERE OLD MEN
WHEN I WAS A YOUNG FELLOW,

INCLUDING MY GRANDFATHER,
"WHITE MAN RUNS HIM."

WHY WOULD A TRIBE OF INDIANS
DECIDED TO FIGHT OTHER TRIBES

IN BEHALF OF THE WHITE MAN?

SIOUXS WON’T LET US FORGET THAT.

THEY ALWAYS SAY,
"YOU CROWS ARE NO GOOD.

"YOU’RE WHITE LOVERS.

YOU’LL HELP THEM FIGHT
AGAINST US."

BUT THEY FORGOT THE FACT

THAT THEY CAME OUT HERE
TO ANNIHILATE US,

TAKE OUR LAND AWAY FROM US.

SO THERE WAS A MATTER
OF PROTECTION.

Narrator: FEARFUL THAT
SITTING BULL WOULD ELUDE HIM,

CUSTER PUSHED HIS COLUMN HARD
UNDER A MERCILESS PRAIRIE SUN --

12 MILES THE FIRST DAY,
33 THE SECOND, 28 THE THIRD.

THE EXHAUSTED TROOPERS
BEGAN TO GRUMBLE ABOUT THE MAN

THEY PRIVATELY CALLED
"HARD ASS."

THEY FOUND THE INDIANS’ TRAIL,

BUT DID NOT GRASP
THE FULL MEANING

OF THE FRESH LAYERS
OF PONY TRACKS

THAT SEEMED TO CROSS
AND RECROSS IT.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

IN THE LAST FEW DAYS,
3,000 MORE INDIANS --

LAKOTA, ARAPAHO
AND CHEYENNE --

HAD LEFT THE RESERVATIONS
TO JOIN SITTING BULL.

THEIR ENCAMPMENT NOW STRETCHED
FOR THREE MILES

ALONG THE GREASY GRASS.

IN IT WERE MORE
THAN 6,000 INDIANS.

1,800 OF THEM WERE WARRIORS.

ON THE EVENING OF JUNE 24,
SITTING BULL MADE HIS WAY

TO A RIDGE
THAT OVERLOOKED THE ENCAMPMENT.

THERE, HE MADE OFFERINGS
TO THE GREAT SPIRIT

AND PRAYED FOR THE PROTECTION
OF HIS PEOPLE.

WAKAN TANKA, PITY ME.

IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE
I OFFER YOU THIS SACRED PIPE.

WHEREVER THE SUN,
THE MOON, THE EARTH,

THE FOUR POINTS OF THE WIND,
THERE YOU ARE ALWAYS.

SAVE THE PEOPLE, I BEG YOU.
WE WANT TO LIVE.

GUARD US AGAINST
ALL MISFORTUNE.

PITY ME --

TATANKA-IYOTANKA.

Narrator: THE NEXT DAY
WAS JUNE 25, A SUNDAY,

CLOUDLESS AND HOT.

CUSTER’S CROW SCOUTS SPOTTED THE
VILLAGE FROM A DISTANT HILLTOP.

THEY CALLED CUSTER UP
TO HAVE A LOOK.

EVEN WITH A TELESCOPE,
HE WAS UNABLE TO SEE

MUCH MORE THAN A WHITE BLUR
ON THE VALLEY FLOOR.

HIS ONLY CONCERN WAS THAT
HE HAD ALREADY BEEN SPOTTED --

THAT UNLESS HE ATTACKED
RIGHT AWAY,

THE INDIANS WOULD SPLIT UP AND
FLEE IN SO MANY DIFFERENT BANDS

THAT HE COULD NEVER STOP THEM.

Ambrose: CUSTER HAD
NEVER YET ENCOUNTERED

AN INDIAN BAND THAT WOULDN’T RUN
WHEN THE CAVALRY ATTACKED,

SO HE PUSHED TO AN ATTACK AS
QUICKLY AS IT COULD BE MOUNTED.

DREADFUL MISTAKE ON HIS PART
BECAUSE HIS MEN WERE EXHAUSTED.

HE SHOULD HAVE BIVOUACKED,
GIVEN THEM A NIGHT’S SLEEP,

SENT OUT SOME SCOUTS TO FIND OUT
HOW FAR THAT VILLAGE EXTENDS

IN THIS DIRECTION AND THAT,

BECAUSE MUCH OF IT WAS HIDDEN BY
WOODS ALONG THE LITTLE BIG HORN.

Narrator: HE KNEW NOTHING
OF THE TERRAIN,

COULD NOT TELL
HOW MANY INDIANS AWAITED HIM.

BUT IT HAD BEEN
A SURPRISE ATTACK

THAT HAD ALLOWED HIM TO DESTROY
BLACK KETTLE’S CHEYENNE

ON THE WASHITA
EIGHT YEARS EARLIER.

A VICTORY HERE
SEEMED JUST AS LIKELY.

CUSTER HURRIED
TOWARD THE LITTLE BIGHORN.

HE SAW DUST RISING OVER A RIDGE
JUST AHEAD OF HIM.

THE INDIANS, HE THOUGHT, WERE
ALREADY ON THE MOVE TO ESCAPE.

IT WAS NOW OR NEVER.

SOME 40 WARRIORS APPEARED,

THEN BEGAN RACING BACK
TOWARD THEIR CAMP.

CUSTER SENT MAJOR MARCUS RENO
AND THREE COMPANIES --

140 MEN -- IN PURSUIT,
PROMISING TO SUPPORT THEM.

THE BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIGHORN
WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN.

IT WAS SOMEWHERE PAST
THE MIDDLE OF THE AFTERNOON

AND ALL OF US
WERE HAVING A GOOD TIME.

WE FOUND OUR WOMEN FRIENDS
BATHING IN THE RIVER,

AND WE JOINED THEM.

OTHER GROUPS
WERE PLAYING IN THE WATER.

TWO SIOUX BOYS
CAME RUNNING TOWARD US.

THEY WERE SHOUTING,
"SOLDIERS ARE COMING!"

WE HEARD SHOOTING.
WE HID IN THE BRUSH --

KATE BIG-HEAD.

Narrator: RENO’S MEN
CROSSED THE RIVER,

FORMED A THIN SKIRMISH LINE,

AND BEGAN FIRING
INTO ONE EDGE OF THE VILLAGE,

ASSUMING THAT CUSTER
WOULD REINFORCE THEM.

THEY WERE SOON OUTNUMBERED.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

RENO ORDERED A RETREAT.

THE SOLDIERS
WERE FALLING INTO THE VILLAGE,

JUST AS SITTING BULL’S VISION
HAD SUGGESTED THEY WOULD.

MORE INDIAN WARRIORS
SWARMED OUT OF THE VILLAGE,

AND STILL CUSTER DID NOT COME.

INSTEAD OF FOLLOWING RENO
INTO THE VALLEY,

HE HAD LED HIS 5 COMPANIES
OF 210 MEN TOWARD A RIDGE,

CONVINCED
THE INDIANS WERE FLEEING

AND THAT BY CHARGING DOWN
INTO THE VILLAGE FROM THERE,

HE COULD CUT THEM OFF.

Crow: HE SENT SOME OF HIS SCOUTS
TO GO LOOK OVER THE HILL,

AND THEY CAME BACK, TOLD HIM,
"WELL, THEY’RE STILL THERE,"

SO HE DECIDED
TO GO LOOK HIMSELF.

HE WOULD LOOK OVER THERE AND
PRETTY SOON HE’D BEAT IT BACK,

HE WAS ALL SHOOK UP,
AS THEY SAY, YOU KNOW.

MY GRANDFATHER USED TO SAY,

"CUSTER LOOKED
WHITER THAN EVER."

Narrator: CUSTER WAS OUTNUMBERED
MORE THAN FOUR TO ONE,

BUT HE LED HIS TROOPS
DOWN TOWARD THE VILLAGE,

FIRING AS THEY CAME.

CHEYENNE WARRIORS
LED BY LAME WHITE MAN,

HUNKPAPA LAKOTA UNDER GALL,

AND OGLALAS UNDER CRAZY HORSE
RODE OUT TO TURN CUSTER BACK.

CUSTER’S MEN STOPPED SHORT,

STUNNED AT THE SIGHT
OF HUNDREDS OF WARRIORS

HEADED RIGHT AT THEM.

Big-Head: IT APPEARED
THERE WOULD BE NO END

TO THE RUSHING PROCESSION
OF WARRIORS.

THEY KEPT GOING, GOING, GOING.

I WANTED TO GO, TOO.

I HAD SEEN OTHER BATTLES
IN PAST TIMES.

I ALWAYS LIKED TO WATCH
THE MEN FIGHTING.

[ GUNSHOT ]

Narrator: THE SOLDIERS BEGAN
A HEADLONG RETREAT

TOWARD THE SUMMIT
OF A LONG, HIGH RIDGE.

SOME OF THE INDIANS
REMEMBERED LATER

THAT THE LEGS OF THE MEN
AND THE HORSES TREMBLED

AS THEY SCRAMBLED UP THE SLOPE.

I CALLED TO MY MEN,
"THIS IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE.

FOLLOW ME."

AS WE RUSHED UPON THEM,

THE SOLDIERS DISMOUNTED
TO FIRE,

BUT THEY DID VERY POOR
SHOOTING.

THEY HELD THEIR HORSE’S REINS
ON ONE ARM

WHILE THEY WERE SHOOTING,

BUT THEIR HORSES
WERE SO FRIGHTENED

THAT THEY PULLED THE MEN
ALL AROUND,

AND A GREAT MANY OF THEIR SHOTS
WENT UP INTO THE AIR

AND DID US NO HARM --

LOW DOG.

I CHARGED IN.

A TALL, WELL-BUILT SOLDIER
SAW ME COMING.

WHEN I RUSHED HIM,

HE THREW HIS RIFLE AT ME
WITHOUT SHOOTING.

WE GRABBED EACH OTHER

AND WRESTLED THERE
IN THE DUST AND SMOKE.

HE HIT ME WITH HIS FISTS
ON THE JAW AND SHOULDERS,

THEN GRABBED MY LONG BRAIDS
WITH BOTH HANDS,

PULLED MY FACE CLOSE,
AND TRIED TO BITE MY NOSE OFF.

I YELLED AS LOUD AS I COULD
TO SCARE MY ENEMY,

BUT HE WOULD NOT LET GO.

FINALLY, I BROKE FREE.

HE DREW HIS PISTOL.

I WRENCHED IT OUT OF HIS HAND
AND STRUCK HIM WITH IT

THREE OR FOUR TIMES
ON THE HEAD,

KNOCKED HIM OVER,
SHOT HIM IN THE HEAD,

AND FIRED AT HIS HEART.

HO HECHETU! THAT WAS A FIGHT.
A HARD FIGHT.

BUT IT WAS A GLORIOUS BATTLE.

I ENJOYED IT --

WHITE BULL.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

THE SHOTS QUIT COMING
FROM THE SOLDIERS.

WARRIORS WHO HAD
CREPT CLOSE TO THEM

BEGAN TO CALL OUT THAT ALL
THE WHITE MEN WERE DEAD.

ALL OF THE INDIANS
WERE SAYING,

"THESE SOLDIERS WENT CRAZY
AND KILLED THEMSELVES."

I DO NOT KNOW.
I COULD NOT SEE THEM.

BUT I BELIEVE THEY DID SO --

WOODEN LEG.

Big-Head: I SAW SEVERAL
DIFFERENT ONES OF THE SOLDIERS

NOT YET QUITE DEAD.

THE INDIANS CUT OFF ARMS
OR LEGS OR FEET OF THESE,

THE SAME AS WAS NE
FOR THE ENTIRELY DEAD.

SOME OF THE WOMEN MOURNING
FOR THEIR OWN DEAD

BEAT AND CUT THE DEAD BODIES
OF THE WHITE MEN.

Narrator: THE SOLDIERS,
ONE LAKOTA REMEMBERED,

WERE AS GOOD MEN AS EVER FOUGHT.

BUT THE FIGHTING, RECALLED
ANOTHER, HAD LASTED NO LONGER

THAN A HUNGRY MAN NEEDED
TO EAT HIS LUNCH.

IN THE END, ALL OF THE MEN
IN CUSTER’S COMMAND --

210 OF THEM -- LAY DEAD.

IT WAS THE GREATEST INDIAN
VICTORY OF THE PLAINS WARS.

TWO CHEYENNE WOMEN WERE SAID
TO HAVE FOUND CUSTER’S BODY.

THE WOMEN PUSHED THE POINT
OF A SEWING AWL

INTO EACH OF HIS EARS,
INTO HIS HEAD.

THIS WAS DONE
TO IMPROVE HIS HEARING,

AS IT SEEMED HE HAD NOT HEARD

WHAT OUR CHIEFS IN THE SOUTH
HAD SAID

WHEN HE SMOKED THE PIPE
WITH THEM.

THEY TOLD HIM THEN
THAT IF EVER AFTERWARD

HE SHOULD BREAK
THAT PEACE PROMISE

AND SHOULD FIGHT THE CHEYENNES,

THE EVERYWHERE SPIRIT SURELY
WOULD CAUSE HIM TO BE KILLED.

I OFTEN HAVE WONDERED IF

WHEN I WAS RIDING AMONG
THE DEAD WHERE HE WAS LYING

MY PONY MAY HAVE KICKED DIRT
UPON HIS BODY --

KATE BIG-HEAD.

WITH OUR HUSBANDS AWAY

CAMPAIGNING
AGAINST THE INDIANS,

OUR ONLY PLEASURE
AFTER THE TORRID DAY

WAS TO GATHER ON SOMEONE’S
PORCH IN THE LONG TWILIGHT,

ENJOY WHAT LITTLE MUSIC
WE COULD MUSTER,

AND TRY TO FORGET OUR WORRIES
AND THE DEVILISH MOSQUITOES.

MANY AMONG US HAD SWEET VOICES,

AND WHILE I PLAYED THE GUITAR
EVERYONE SANG.

THEN, GLANCING
ACROSS THE PARADE GROUND,

WE NOTICED
SMALL GROUPS OF SOLDIERS

TALKING EXCITEDLY TOGETHER,

AND SEVERAL PEOPLE
CAME RUNNING TOWARD US,

FACES SET AND WILD-EYED.

ONE WAS HORN TOAD,
THE INDIAN SCOUT,

WHO GASPED IN SHORT, SHARP
SENTENCES, "CUSTER KILLED.

WHOLE COMMAND KILLED."

THE GUITAR SLIPPED
FROM MY KNEES TO THE FLOOR.

THE PINK BALL OF KNITTING

FELL OUT
OF CHARLOTTE MOYLAN’S HANDS.

THE LETTER LYING IDLY
IN MRS. BENTEEN’S LAP

FLUTTERED OVER THE RAIL
AND ONTO THE LAWN --

KATHERINE GIBSON.

Narrator:
AMERICANS WERE CELEBRATING

THEIR CENTENNIAL THAT SUMMER,

PROUD OF 100 YEARS
OF INDEPENDENCE.

THE NEWS THAT CUSTER
AND ALL THE MEN OF HIS COMMAND

HAD BEEN KILLED BY INDIANS WAS
GREETED WITH SIMPLE DISBELIEF.

HOW COULD SUCH A THING
POSSIBLY HAVE HAPPENED?

HOW COULD MERE INDIANS

WITH NAMES THAT SOUNDED ABSURD
TO EASTERN EARS --

LOW DOG, CRAZY HORSE,
SITTING BULL --

HAVE DEFEATED
SO CELEBRATED A SOLDIER?

GENERAL PHILIP SHERIDAN,

ARCHITECT OF THE PLAN
THAT HAD ENDED IN DISASTER,

PROMISED
CUSTER WOULD BE AVENGED.

WASHINGTON HURRIED 2,500
ADDITIONAL CAVALRYMEN WEST.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE BATTLE
OF THE LITTLE BIG HORN,

IT WAS CUSTER’S LAST STAND,

BUT IN A LOT OF WAYS
IT WAS A LAST STAND

FOR INDIAN PEOPLE
AS A FREE PEOPLE,

AS A PEOPLE THAT WERE
LIVING ON THE PLAINS

AND IN THE LIFESTYLE.

THAT WAS GOING TO CHANGE
BECAUSE OF THAT VICTORY.

Narrator: FRESH BLUE COLUMNS
COMMANDED BY CROOK, TERRY,

AND COLONEL NELSON MILES

CRISSCROSSED
THE POWDER RIVER COUNTRY,

HUNTING DOWN THE BANDS
THAT HAD SPLIT UP

AFTER THE CUSTER FIGHT.

ONE BY ONE,
THEY WERE FORCED TO SURRENDER.

INDIANS WHO HAD HAD NOTHING
TO DO WITH THE FIGHTING

WERE DISARMED AND HAD
THEIR PONIES SEIZED AND SOLD.

WHATEVER WE DO,
WHEREVER WE GO,

WE ARE EXPECTED TO SAY,
"YES, YES, YES, YES."

AND WHEN WE DON’T AGREE AT ONCE

TO WHAT YOU ASK OF US
IN COUNCIL,

YOU ALWAYS SAY, "YOU WON’T
GET ANYTHING TO EAT" --

STANDING ELK.

Narrator:
DESPITE THE FORT LARAMIE TREATY,

CONGRESS TOOK AWAY
THE BLACK HILLS

AND ANOTHER 40 MILLION ACRES
OF LAKOTA LAND.

THE RESERVATION CHIEFS
WERE MADE TO AGREE TO ALL OF IT.

BUT SITTING BULL STILL HELD OUT.

HE AND HIS FOLLOWERS WERE BEYOND
THE REACH OF AMERICAN TROOPS,

ACROSS THE BORDER IN CANADA,

WHICH HE CALLED
"THE LAND OF THE GRANDMOTHER,"

IN HONOR OF QUEEN VICTORIA.

WHEN GENERAL ALFRED TERRY
TRAVELED NORTH

TO OFFER HIM A FULL PARDON

ON THE CONDITION THAT HE SETTLE
ON A RESERVATION,

SITTING BULL
ANGRILY SENT HIM AWAY.

Sitting Bull: THIS COUNTRY
IS MY COUNTRY NOW,

AND I INTEND TO STAY HERE AND
RAISE MY PEOPLE TO FILL IT.

WE DID NOT GIVE OUR COUNTRY
TO YOU...YOU STOLE IT.

YOU COME HERE TO TELL LIES.

WHEN YOU GO HOME,
TAKE THEM WITH YOU.

I FEEL LIKE A FATHER

WITH A GREAT FAMILY
OF CHILDREN AROUND ME,

IN A WINTER STORM.

AND I AM LOOKING WITH CALMNESS,
CONFIDENCE, AND PATIENCE,

FOR THE CLOUDS TO BREAK
AND THE SUN TO SHINE,

SO THAT I CAN RUN OUT AND
SAY, "CHILDREN, COME HOME."

I AM READY TO KILL
THE FATTED CALF

AND MAKE A JOYFUL FEAST

TO ALL WHO WILL COME
AND PARTAKE --

BRIGHAM YOUNG.

Narrator:
FOR 30 HARD YEARS,

BRIGHAM YOUNG HAD ATTENDED
TO EVERY DETAIL OF LIFE

IN MORMON UTAH, WHERE,
UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP,

150,000 LATTER-DAY SAINTS HAD
SETTLED IN HIS DESERT SANCTUARY.

YOUNG HAD TRIED TO FASHION
A DISTINCT SOCIETY

BASED ON COMMUNAL ECONOMICS,

POLYGAMY,
AND ONE-PARTY POLITICS,

ALL RUN BY THE CHURCH.

BUT NOW HE FELT BESIEGED.

CONGRESS WAS ONCE AGAIN TRYING
TO ASSERT CONTROL OVER UTAH.

A NEW LAW GAVE FEDERAL COURTS,
NOT MORMONS,

JURISDICTION
OVER CRIMINAL CASES.

THE FEDERAL OFFICIALS
IN UTAH THEN

REALLY WANTED
TO NAIL BRIGHAM YOUNG.

THEY WERE TRYING TO REDUCE
HIS POWER OVER THE PEOPLE.

Narrator:
ONE OF THE FIRST ACTIONS

OF THE FEDERAL PROSECUTORS

WAS TO ARREST YOUNG’S DEVOTED
FOLLOWER, JOHN D. LEE,

AND PUT HIM ON TRIAL FOR MURDER.

TWENTY YEARS EARLIER, A GROUP
OF UNSUSPECTING EMIGRANTS

FROM MISSOURI AND ARKANSAS
HAD BEEN ATTACKED

BY A COMBINED FORCE OF PAIUTE
INDIANS AND MORMON SETTLERS

AT A PLACE CALLED
"MOUNTAIN MEADOWS."

JOHN D. LEE HAD OPPOSED
THE ATTACK AT FIRST,

BUT IN THE END
HE WENT ALONG WITH IT,

AND MORE THAN A HUNDRED MEN,
WOMEN, AND CHILDREN

HAD BEEN SLAUGHTERED
WITHOUT MERCY.

IT HAD BEEN THE DARKEST EVENT
IN MORMON HISTORY.

Udall: JOHN D. LEE WAS ONE
OF MY GREAT-GRANDFATHERS

AND HE, UNTIL RECENT TIMES,
WAS CONSIDERED THE LEADER

WHO CARRIED OUT
THE MOUNTAIN MEADOW MASSACRE.

ACTUALLY, HE WAS ABOUT THIRD
IN LINE IN THE CHAIN OF COMMAND

OF A MILITIA
THAT CARRIED THIS OUT.

HE LATER THEN
WAS SENT TO SOUTHERN UTAH

AND KIND OF OUT OF THE IMMEDIATE
ORBIT OF BRIGHAM YOUNG,

BUT THERE WAS
A FATHER-SON TYPE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN THOSE TWO MEN.

Narrator: FOR YEARS, YOUNG TRIED
TO PROTECT HIS PROTEGE

FROM CAPTURE AND PROSECUTION
FOR HIS ROLE IN THE MASSACRE,

SENDING HIM TO EXILE
IN THE ARIZONA WILDERNESS,

NEAR THE GRAND CANYON.

IT WAS A ROUGH,
SOLITARY EXISTENCE.

LEE NAMED HIS NEW HOME
"LONELY DELL."

PROSECUTORS OFFERED HIM
MONEY AND LENIENCY

IF HE WOULD IMPLICATE OTHERS
IN THE KILLINGS.

IT IS TOLD AROUND FOR A FACT

THAT I COULD TELL
GREAT CONFESSIONS

AND BRING IN BRIGHAM YOUNG
AND THE HEADS OF THE CHURCH,

BUT I WILL NOT BE THE MEANS

OF BRINGING TROUBLES
ON MY PEOPLE,

FOR THIS PEOPLE
IS A MISREPRESENTED

AND CRIED-DOWN COMMUNITY.

YES, A PEOPLE SCATTERED
AND PEELED.

AND IFT LAST THEY DID RISE UP

AND SHED THE BLOOD
OF THEIR ENEMIES,

I WON’T CONSENT
TO GIVE THEM UP --

JOHN D. LEE.

Narrator:
WHEN LEE’S TRIAL BEGAN,

ORDERS WENT OUT
THAT NO MORMON SHOULD TESTIFY.

THE FOUR GENTILES ON THE JURY
FOUND LEE GUILTY,

BUT ALL EIGHT MORMONS
HELD OUT FOR ACQUITTAL.

ACROSS THE NATION,
THE CASE BECAME A SYMBOL

FOR EVERYTHING AMERICANS
DESPISED ABOUT MORMONISM.

PRESSURES MOUNTED
FOR THE GOVERNMENT

TO STRIP BRIGHAM YOUNG
AND THE CHURCH

OF THEIR AUTHORITY IN UTAH.

A SECOND TRIAL WAS SCHEDULED.

Udall: AND I THINK
A DECISION WAS MADE,

"WELL IF WE SACRIFICE LEE, MAYBE
THE PRESSURES WILL GO AWAY,"

BECAUSE AT THE SECOND TRIAL,

THE WORD WAS SENT DOWN
TO THE MORMONS

THAT THIS HAD TO BE COMPLETED,

AND THEY SHOULD VOTE
FOR A CONVICTION.

HE WAS SINGLED OUT
AS THE PERPETRATOR

AND THE MORMONS EVEN PUT IT
IN THEIR SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS,

WHICH BOTHERED MY FAMILY
FOR A LONG TIME.

AND HE WAS IN EFFECT
THE SCAPEGOAT.

Narrator: THIS TIME,

ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE JURY
WERE MORMONS.

ALL VOTED TO CONVICT.

NO ONE ELSE WHO TOOK PART
IN THE MASSACRE

WAS EVER BROUGHT TO TRIAL.

UNDER UTAH LAW,
LEE WAS ALLOWED TO CHOOSE

WHETHER HE WISHED TO BE SHOT,
HANGED, OR BEHEADED.

HE CHOSE TO FACE A FIRING SQUAD.

ON MARCH 23, 1877, JOHN D. LEE
WAS ESCORTED TO THE SITE

OF THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS
MASSACRE,

SEATED ON A COFFIN,
AND PHOTOGRAPHED.

HE MADE ARRANGEMENTS
FOR EACH OF THE TWO WIVES

WHO REMAINED TRUE TO HIM
TO GET A COPY OF THE PICTURE.

THEN, HE SPOKE
TO THE LITTLE CROWD

THAT HAD COME TO SEE HIM DIE.

Lee: I HAVE BUT LITTLE
TO SAY THIS MORNING.

OF COURSE I FEEL THAT I AM
UPON THE BRINK OF ETERNITY.

I FEEL AS CALM
AS A SUMMER MORN.

I AM READY TO MEET MY REDEEMER.

I DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING

THAT IS NOW BEING TAUGHT AND
PRACTICED BY BRIGHAM YOUNG.

I DO NOT CARE WHO HEARS IT.

I STUDIED TO MAKE
THIS MAN’S WILL MY PLEASURE

FOR 30 YEARS.

SEE NOW WHAT I HAVE
COME TO THIS DAY!

I HAVE BEEN SACRIFICED IN
A COWARDLY, DASTARDLY MANNER.

WHAT CONFIDENCE CAN I HAVE
IN SUCH A MAN?

I HAVE NONE, AND I DON’T THINK
MY FATHER IN HEAVEN HAS ANY.

Narrator: THEN, LEE SHOOK HANDS
WITH HIS EXECUTIONERS,

HANDED HIS HAT AND OVERCOAT
TO A FRIEND.

HIS LAST WORDS WERE
TO THE FIRING SQUAD.

"CENTER MY HEART BOYS," HE SAID.
"DON’T MANGLE MY BODY."

[ GUNSHOT ]

Narrator:
FIVE MONTHS LATER,

BRIGHAM YOUNG WAS SEIZED
BY TERRIBLE STOMACH PAINS.

FOR DAYS,
SURROUNDED BY HIS HUGE FAMILY,

THE PATRIARCH FLOATED
IN AND OUT OF CONSCIOUSNESS.

ON AUGUST 29, HE CALLED OUT
THE NAME OF JOSEPH SMITH,

FOUNDER OF THE MORMON FAITH.

THEN, BRIGHAM YOUNG, THE MAN WHO
HAD LED HIS PEOPLE TO THE WEST

AND HAD SHIELDED THEM FROM THEIR
ENEMIES FOR THREE DECADES, DIED.

EVEN IN DEATH,
HE REMAINED IN CHARGE.

FOLLOWING PRECISE INSTRUCTIONS
LEFT IN HIS WILL,

HIS REMAINS WERE PLACED
IN A STONE VAULT

OVERLOOKING THE MAGNIFICENT CITY
HE HAD BUILT IN THE DESERT.

NOW, HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD HAVE
TO FACE THE WORLD WITHOUT HIM.

I CAN’T UNDERTAKE
TO EXPLAIN BRIGHAM YOUNG

TO YOUR ATLANTIC CITIZENS,

OR EXPECT YOU
TO PUT HIM AT HIS VALUE.

YOUR GREAT MEN EASTWARD
ARE TO ME

LIKE YOUR IVORY AND
PEARL-HANDLED TABLE KNIVES --

MORE SHINY THAN THE INSIDE
OF MY WATCH CASE,

BUT WITH ONLY EDGE ENOUGH
TO SLICE BREAD AND CHEESE,

AND ALL ALIKE BY THE DOZEN,
ONE WITH ANOTHER.

BRIGHAM IS THE ARTICLE
THAT SELLS OUT WEST WITH US --

BETWEEN A ROMAN CUTLASS
AND A BEEF BUTCHER KNIFE,

THE THING TO CUT UP A DEER
OR CUT DOWN AN ENEMY

EVERY BIT AS WELL.

YOU THAT JUDGE MEN
BY THE HANDLE AND THE SHEATH,

HOW CAN I MAKE YOU
KNOW A GOOD BLADE?

JEDEDIAH M. GRANT.

OUR FATHERS GAVE US MANY LAWS,

WHICH THEY HAD LEARNED
FROM THEIR FATHERS.

THEY TOLD US TO TREAT ALL MEN
AS THEY TREATED US,

THAT WE SHOULD NEVER BE
THE FIRST TO BREAK A BARGAIN,

THAT IT WAS A DISGRACE
TO TELL A LIE,

THAT WE SHOULD SPEAK
ONLY THE TRUTH.

WE WERE TAUGHT TO BELIEVE

THAT THE GREAT SPIRIT
SEES AND HEARS EVERYTHING,

AND THAT HE NEVER FORGETS.

THIS I BELIEVE, AND ALL
MY PEOPLE BELIEVE THE SAME --

HIN-MAH-TOO-YAH-LAT-KEKHT.

Narrator: BY 1877,
MOST NEZ PERCE WERE LIVING

ON A RESERVATION
ALONG THE CLEARWATER RIVER

IN WESTERN IDAHO.

MANY HAD CONVERTED
TO CHRISTIANITY,

WORE WHITE MEN’S CLOTHES,
AND HAD TAKEN UP FARMING.

BUT SOME REFUSED
TO MOVE ONTO THE RESERVATION.

AMONG THEM WAS A BAND THAT LIVED
IN THE BEAUTIFUL WALLOWA VALLEY

OF EASTERN OREGON.

THEIR VILLAGE CHIEF,

RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OVERALL
WELFARE OF HIS PEOPLE,

WAS A TALL, RESERVED MAN
WHOSE NEZ PERCE NAME,

HIN-MAH-TOO-YAH-LAT-KEKHT,

MEANT "THUNDER ROLLING
FROM THE MOUNTAINS."

WHITES CALLED HIM
"CHIEF JOSEPH."

HE WAS STILL A YOUNG MAN WHEN
HE PROMISED HIS DYING FATHER

THAT HE WOULD NEVER SELL
THEIR HOMELAND.

AND FOR SIX YEARS,

HE HAD REFUSED TO MOVE
ONTO THE RESERVATION

TO COMPLY WITH A TREATY HIS BAND
OF NEZ PERCE HAD NEVER SIGNED.

DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND ME
AND MY AFFECTION FOR THE LAND.

I NEVER SAID THE LAND
WAS MINE TO DO WITH AS I CHOSE.

THE ONE WHO HAS THE RIGHT
TO DISPOSE OF IT

IS THE ONE WHO HAS CREATED IT.

I CLAIM A RIGHT
TO LIVE ON MY LAND,

AND ACCORD YOU THE PRIVILEGE
TO LIVE ON YOURS.

THE EARTH IS
THE MOTHER OF ALL PEOPLE,

AND ALL PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE
EQUAL RIGHTS UPON IT --

CHIEF JOSEPH.

WE DO NOT WISH TO INTERFERE
WITH YOUR RELIGION,

BUT MUST TALK ABOUT
PRACTICABLE THINGS.

TWENTY TIMES OVER YOU REPEAT
THAT THE EARTH IS YOUR MOTHER.

LET US HEAR NO MORE, BUT
COME TO BUSINESS AT ONCE --

GENERAL OLIVER O. HOWARD.

Narrator:
GENERAL OLIVER OTIS HOWARD

WAS A ONE-ARMED CIVIL WAR HERO,

WHO HAD RUN
THE FREEDMAN’S BUREAU

AND FOUNDED HOWARD UNIVERSITY
FOR EMANCIPATED BLACKS

IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

NOW HE WAS DISPATCHED
TO DEAL WITH THE NEZ PERCE.

HOWARD BECAME CONVINCED

THAT THE INDIANS
WERE RIGHT ABOUT THE TREATY,

AND WROTE THE WAR DEPARTNT
TO SAY SO.

Howard: I THINK IT IS
A GREAT MISTAKE

TO TAKE THE VALLEY
FROM JOSEPH AND HIS BAND.

POSSIBLY CONGRESS
CAN BE INDUCED

TO LET THESE PEACEABLE INDIANS
HAVE THIS VALLEY FOR THEIR OWN.

Narrator: HOWARD OFFERED
TO BUY THE WALLOWA VALLEY,

BUT JOSEPH REFUSED TO SELL IT.

NOW WASHINGTON ORDERED HOWARD
TO MOVE THE NEZ PERCE...

ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.

HE TOLD JOSEPH AND THE OTHERS

THAT IF THEY WEREN’T ON THE
RESERVATION IN LAPWAI, IDAHO,

WITHIN A MONTH,

HIS SOLDIERS
WOULD FORCE THEM TO GO THERE.

Chief Joseph: I KNEW
I HAD NEVER SOLD MY COUNTRY

AND THAT I HAD NO LAND
IN LAPWAI.

BUT I DID NOT WANT BLOODSHED.

I DID NOT WANT
MY PEOPLE KILLED.

I DID NOT WANT ANYBODY KILLED.

I SAID IN MY HEART THAT
RATHER THAN HAVE WAR,

I WOULD GIVE UP EVERYTHING --

RATHER THAN HAVE THE BLOOD
OF WHITE MEN

UPON THE HANDS OF MY PEOPLE.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

JOSEPH AND THE
OTHER CHIEFS

BEGAN MOVING THEIR PEOPLE.

BUT A HANDFUL
OF YOUNG WARRIORS,

SEEKING REVENGE FOR THE WAY
THEIR PEOPLE HAD BEEN TREATED,

SLIPPED AWAY
AND KILLED 18 WHITE SETTLERS.

FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN THEIR HISTORY,

JOSEPH’S PEOPLE FOUND THEMSELVES
AT WAR WITH THE AMERICANS.

Chief Joseph:
I KNEW WE WERE TOO WEAK

TO FIGHT THE UNITED STATES.

WE HAD MANY GRIEVANCES, BUT I
KNEW THAT WAR WOULD BRING MORE.

Narrator: HOWARD SENT
CAPTAIN DAVID PERRY

AND TWO TROOPS OF CAVALRY
TO BRING THE YOUNG WARRIORS

AND THE REST
OF THE NEZ PERCE IN,

AND CONFIDENTLY WIRED
HIS SUPERIORS,

"THINK WE WILL MAKE
SHORT WORK OF IT."

AT WHITE BIRD CANYON ON THE
SALMON RIVER, PERRY ATTACKED.

THE NEZ PERCE HURLED THEM BACK.

Chief Joseph: THOSE SOLDIERS

DID NOT HOLD THEIR POSITION
10 MINUTES.

SOME SOLDIERS
WERE QUICKLY ON THE RUN.

THEN THE ENTIRE ENEMY FORCE
GAVE WAY.

WE COUNTED 33 DEAD SOLDIERS.
WE DID NO SCALPING.

WE DID NOT STRIP THEM NAKED.

WE DID NOT HURT THE DEAD,
ONLY LET THEM LIE.

Narrator:
ONLY THREE NEZ PERCE WARRIORS

HAD BEEN WOUNDED IN THE BATTLE,

BUT PERRY HAD LOST
A THIRD OF HIS COMMAND

AND BEEN DRIVEN FROM THE FIELD.

"I HAVE BEEN
IN LOTS OF SCRAPES,"

ONE ARMY SCOUT REMEMBERED,

"BUT I NEVER WENT UP AGAINST
ANYTHING LIKE THE NEZ PERCE

IN ALL MY LIFE."

NEWS OF THE STUNNING DEFEAT
AT WHITE BIRD CANYON,

ALMOST ONE YEAR AFTER CUSTER’S
DEATH AT THE LITTLE BIG HORN,

SHOCKED THE COUNTRY.

HOWARD CALLED FOR MORE TROOPS.

FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS,
SEEKING SOME PLACE

WHERE THE SOLDIERS
WOULD NOT FOLLOW,

THE NEZ PERCE WOULD LEAD
THE UNITED STATES ARMY

ON ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE
PURSUITS IN MILITARY HISTORY.

ON JULY 3, THE NEZ PERCE
WIPED OUT

AN ARMY SCOUTING PARTY
OF 13 MEN THAT GOT TOO CLOSE.

ON INDEPENDENCE DAY,
THEY FOUGHT OFF AN ATTACK

AT AN OLD STAGE STOP
CALLED "COTTONWOOD."

A WEEK LATER,
ON THE CLEARWATER RIVER,

THEY KILLED 13 MORE OF HOWARD’S
MEN WHO SOUGHT TO STOP THEM.

THEN, THEY BEGAN CLIMBING
THE BITTERROOT MOUNTAINS,

LED BY A WAR CHIEF NAMED
"LOOKING GLASS,"

FOLLOWING THE SAME TRAIL

THAT HAD BROUGHT LEWIS AND CLARK
TO THEM

THREE-QUARTERS
OF A CENTURY EARLIER.

THERE WERE ABOUT 700 OF THEM --
ONLY 200 WARRIORS --

THE REST WOMEN, CHILDREN,
AND OLD PEOPLE,

ALL IN JOSEPH’S CARE.

STILL, THEY MOVED QUICKLY,

BELIEVING THAT IF THEY COULD
MAKE IT TO MONTANA

AND JOIN THEIR ALLIES,
THE CROW, THEY WOULD BE SAFE.

WHEN THEY REACHED MONTANA,
THE NEZ PERCE TURNED SOUTH

ALONG THE BITTERROOT RIVER,

PAYING FOR FOOD AND SUPPLIES
FROM WHITE SETTLERS.

BUT THE FRIGHTENED TOWNSPEOPLE
OF MISSOULA, BUTTE, BANNOCK,

AND VIRGINIA CITY
DEMANDED ARMY PROTECTION.

ON AN ELEVATED PLATEAU

SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS
CALLED "THE BIG HOLE,"

LOOKING GLASS
CONVINCED THE WEARY INDIANS

THEY COULD REST
FOR SEVERAL DAYS.

HOWARD, HE SAID, WAS TOO FAR
BEHIND THEM TO WORRY ABOUT.

BUT COLONEL JOHN GIBBON

HAD ASSEMBLED ALL THE AVAILABLE
SOLDIERS IN WESTERN MONTANA

AND, WITH THE HELP
OF BANNOCK SCOUTS,

TRACKED THE UNSUSPECTING
NEZ PERCE TO THE BIG HOLE.

THE TRAIL LED US
ALONG THE BLUFFS

OVERLOOKING
THE BRUSH-COVERED VALLEY,

AND AS WE MOVED
STEALTHILY FORWARD,

I COULD HEAR
A CAUTIOUS WHISPER,

"THERE THEY ARE. LOOK!"

AND THE MAIN CAMP
OF OUR ENEMIES

WAS AS PLAINLY IN SIGHT AS
THE DIM STARLIGHT PERMITTED --

COLONEL JOHN GIBBON.

Narrator:
THE TROOPS ATTACKED AT DAWN.

IN THE FIRST MOMENTS,

BETWEEN 60 AND 90 NEZ PERCE
WERE CUT DOWN --

MANY OF THEM DEAD

BEFORE THEY COULD KICK FREE
OF THEIR BLANKETS.

BUT THE SURVIVORS REGROUPED,

WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND OLD MEN
FIGHTING ALONGSIDE THE WARRIORS

WITH SUCH FURY THAT THEY DROVE
THE SOLDIERS FROM THE CAMP.

Gibbon:
FEW OF US WILL SOON FORGET

THE WAIL OF MINGLED GRIEF,
RAGE, AND HORROR

WHICH CAME FROM THE CAMP FOUR
OR FIVE HUNDRED YARDS FROM US

WHEN THE INDIANS
RETURNED TO IT

AND RECOGNIZED
THEIR SLAUGHTERED WARRIORS,

WOMEN, AND CHILDREN.

ABOVE THIS WAIL OF HORROR

WE COULD HEAR
THE PASSIONATE APPEAL

OF THE LEADERS URGING
THEIR FOLLOWERS TO FIGHT,

AND THE WAR WHOOPS IN ANSWER
WHICH BODED US NO GOOD.

Narrator:
THE ENRAGED WARRIORS

PINNED GIBBON’S MEN DOWN
WITH THEIR FIRE,

WHILE JOSEPH LED THE OTHERS
AWAY FROM THE FIGHTING.

THE NEZ PERCE SLIPPED BACK INTO
IDAHO, THEN TURNED EAST AGAIN,

TOWARD THE YELLOWSTONE PLATEAU,

WHICH HAD RECENTLY BEEN
SET ASIDE AS A NATIONAL PARK.

WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN
HIMSELF

HAD ASSURED VISITORS
THERE WAS NO DANGER.

INDIANS, HE SAID,
WERE TOO SUPERSTITIOUS

TO VENTURE NEAR THE GEYSERS.

BUT THE NEZ PERCE
SWEPT RIGHT INTO THE PARK.

THEY CAPTURED MORE THAN
A DOZEN HORRIFIED TOURISTS

AND KILLED TWO OF THEM

BEFORE THE CHIEFS TOLD THE
WARRIORS TO LET THE OTHERS GO.

THE INDIANS MOVED ON,

STILL HOPING TO JOIN FORCES
WITH THEIR LONGTIME FRIENDS,

THE CROW,

AND TO FIND A COUNTRY
SOMEWHERE FREE OF WHITES.

BUT THE CROW WERE NOW PURSUING
THEM ON BEHALF OF THE ARMY,

STEALING HORSES,
KILLING STRAGGLERS.

Man: MANY SNOWS THE CROWS
HAVE BEEN OUR FRIENDS.

BUT NOW TURNED ENEMIES.

I DO NOT UNDERSTAND

HOW THE CROWS COULD THINK
TO HELP THE SOLDIERS.

MY HEART WAS JUST LIKE FIRE.

Narrator:
THE NEZ PERCE WERE ALONE.

THE WEST THEY HAD ONCE KNOWN
HAD VANISHED.

NOW, THEY FASTENED
ON ONE LAST CHANCE FOR ESCAPE.

THE LAKOTA CHIEF, SITTING BULL,
HAD FOUND SAFETY IN CANADA.

THEY WOULD HEAD NORTH
ACROSS MONTANA TO JOIN HIM.

THEY CROSSED
THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER,

THEN THE MUSSELSHELL,

AND FINALLY, IN LATE SEPTEMBER,
THE MISSOURI.

THEY HAD COME
MORE THAN 1,500 MILES,

FOUGHT IN 17 ENGAGEMENTS AGAINST
MORE THAN 2,000 SOLDIERS

AND INDIAN SCOUTS,

SUFFERED HARDSHIPS,
DISAPPOINTMENTS,

AND THE LOSS OF LOVED ONES,

BUT THEY HAD BEATEN OR ELUDED
EVERY ARMY SENT AGAINST THEM.

"THE WHOLE NEZ PERCE MOVEMENT,"
ONE U.S. ARMY OFFICER MARVELLED,

"IS UNEQUALLED IN THE HISTORY
OF INDIAN WARFARE."

NOW, CANADA AND FREEDOM
WERE ONLY 40 MILES AWAY.

BEFORE CROSSING THE BORDER,

THE NEZ PERCE STOPPED
TO CAMP ON SNAKE CREEK,

NEAR THE BEAR PAW MOUNTAINS.

GENERAL HOWARD, THEY KNEW,

WAS MORE THAN TWO DAY’S MARCH
BEHIND THEM.

BUT UNKNOWN TO THEM,
COLONEL NELSON A. MILES

HAD MERCILESSLY PUSHED
HIS OWN FIFTH INFANTRY

AND CUSTER’S OLD COMMAND,
THE SEVENTH CAVALRY,

ALL THE WAY FROM EASTERN MONTANA
TO INTERCEPT THE NEZ PERCE.

WITH HIM RODE LAKOTA
AND CHEYENNE WARRIORS,

WHO JUST A YEAR BEFORE

HAD DEFEATED THE SEVENTH
AT THE LITTLE BIG HORN.

THE NEZ PERCE WERE QUIETLY
SLUMBERING IN THEIR TENTS

WHEN THE CHARGE WAS MADE.

THE TRAMP OF AT LEAST
600 HORSES OVER THE PRAIRIE

FAIRLY SHOOK THE GROUND,

AND, ALTHOUGH
A COMPLETE SURPRISE

TO THE INDIANS IN THE MAIN,

IT MUST HAVE GIVEN THEM
A FEW MINUTES NOTICE,

FOR AS THE TROOPS
CHARGED AGAINST THE VILLAGE,

THE INDIANS
OPENED A HOT FIRE UPON THEM --

COLONEL NELSON A. MILES.

Narrator: NEZ PERCE WARRIORS
DROVE OFF ONE ATTACK,

THEN A SECOND, AND A THIRD.

THEY KILLED OR WOUNDED
53 OF THE SOLDIERS,

BUT ALL THEIR HORSES
HAD BEEN DRIVEN OFF.

THEY COULD NOT ESCAPE.

MILES DUG IN FOR A SIEGE.

THE WEATHER TURNED COLDER.

Man: MOST OF OUR FEW WARRIORS
LEFT FROM THE BIG HOLE

HAD BEEN SWEPT
AS LEAVES BEFORE THE STORM.

A YOUNG WARRIOR, WOUNDED,
LAY ON A BUFFALO ROBE

DYING WITHOUT COMPLAINT.

CHILDREN CRYING WITH COLD.

NO FIRE.
THERE COULD BE NO LIGHT.

EVERYWHERE THE CRYING,
THE DEATH WAIL.

I FELT THE COMING END.

ALL FOR WHICH WE HAD SUFFERED,
LOST!

THOUGHTS CAME OF THE WALLOWA
WHERE I GREW UP,

OF MY OWN COUNTRY
WHEN ONLY INDIANS WERE THERE,

OF TEPEES
ALONG THE BENDING RIVER,

OF THE BLUE, CLEAR LAKE,

WIDE MEADOWS
WITH HORSE AND CATTLE HERDS.

FROM THE MOUNTAIN FORESTS,
VOICES SEEMED CALLING.

I FELT AS DREAMING.
NOT MY LIVING SELF.

Narrator: FOR FIVE MORE DAYS,
THE SIEGE WENT ON.

A FEW NEZ PERCE
SLIPPED BEHIND THE LINES

AND STRAGGLED INTO CANADA.

SITTING BULL WELCOMED THEM,

BUT WOULD SEND NO FORCE
TO RESCUE THE OTHERS.

UNDER A WHITE FLAG,
MILES OPENED NEGOTIATIONS.

JOSEPH WAS SELECTED
TO TALK WITH HIM.

"TURN OVER YOUR RIFLES,"
MILES SAID, "AND IN THE SPRING,

YOU WILL BE ALLOWED
TO RETURN HOME."

Chief Joseph: MY PEOPLE WERE
DIVIDED ABOUT SURRENDERING,

BUT I COULD NOT BEAR
TO SEE MY WOUNDED MEN AND WOMEN

SUFFER ANY LONGER.

WE HAD LOST ENOUGH ALREADY.

COLONEL MILES PROMISED

THAT WE MIGHT RETURN
TO OUR OWN COUNTRY

WITH WHAT STOCK WE HAD LEFT.

I THOUGHT
WE COULD START AGAIN.

I BELIEVED COLONEL MILES, OR
I NEVER WOULD HAVE SURRENDERED.

Narrator: ON THE AFTERNOON
OF OCTOBER 5, 1877,

JOSEPH RODE OUT TO THE FOOT
OF A BLUFF ON THE PRAIRIE.

COLONEL MILES AND GENERAL HOWARD
WERE WAITING FOR HIM.

JOSEPH THREW HIMSELF
OFF HIS HORSE,

DRAPED HIS BLANKET ABOUT HIM,
AND WITH A QUIET PRIDE,

NOT EXACTLY DEFIANCE,

ADVANCED TOWARD GENERAL HOWARD
AND HELD OUT HIS RIFLE

IN TOKEN OF SUBMISSION --

LIEUTENANT CHARLES ERSKINE WOOD.

Chief Joseph:
I AM TIRED OF FIGHTING.

OUR CHIEFS ARE ALL KILLED.
LOOKING GLASS IS DEAD.

THE OLD MEN ARE ALL DEAD.

IT IS COLD,
AND WE HAVE NO BLANKETS.

THE LITTLE CHILDREN
ARE FREEZING TO DEATH.

MY PEOPLE, SOME OF THEM,
HAVE RUN AWAY TO THE HILLS,

AND HAVE NO FOOD.

NO ONE KNOWS WHERE THEY ARE.

I WANT TO HAVE TIME
TO LOOK FOR MY CHILDREN,

AND SEE HOW MANY OF THEM
I CAN FIND.

MAYBE I SHALL FIND THEM
AMONG THE DEAD.

HEAR ME, MY CHIEFS!
I AM TIRED.

MY HEART IS SICK AND SAD.

FROM WHERE THE SUN NOW STANDS,
I WILL FIGHT NO MORE FOREVER.

Narrator: JOSEPH AND HIS PEOPLE
WERE LOADED ONTO A RIVERBOAT

AND SENT DOWN THE MISSOURI RIVER
TOWARD FORT ABRAHAM LINCOLN

IN DAKOTA TERRITORY,

WHERE THEY EXPECTED
TO SPEND THE WINTER.

BUT WHILE THEY WERE ON THE WAY,
MILES’ AND HOWARD’S PROMISE

THAT THEY WOULD BE ALLOWED
TO RETURN HOME

HAD BEEN OVERRULED
BY GENERAL SHERMAN.

THE INDIANS THROUGHOUT
DISPLAYED A COURAGE AND SKILL

THAT ELICITED
UNIVERSAL PRAISE.

THEY ABSTAINED FROM SCALPING,
LET CAPTIVE WOMEN GO FREE,

DID NOT COMMIT
INDISCRIMINATE MURDER

OF PEACEFUL FAMILIES,
WHICH IS USUAL,

AND FOUGHT
WITH ALMOST SCIENTIFIC SKILL.

NEVERTHELESS,
THEY WOULD NOT SETTLE DOWN

ON LAND SET APART FOR THEM.

AND WHEN COMMANDED
BY PROPER AUTHORITY,

THEY BEGAN RESISTANCE
BY MURDERING PERSONS

IN NO MANNER CONNECTED
WITH THEIR ALLEGED GRIEVANCES.

THEY SHOULD NEVER AGAIN BE
ALLOWED TO RETURN TO OREGON --

GENERAL WILLIAM
TECUMSEH SHERMAN.

Narrator: MILES AND HOWARD COULD
NOT CHANGE SHERMAN’S DECISION.

THE NEZ PERCE
HAD BEEN BETRAYED AGAIN.

[ CANNON FIRES ]

WHEN THE INDIANS
ARRIVED AT THE FORT,

ITS CANNON GREETED THEM,

AND THE STEAM ENGINE
OF A NORTHERN PACIFIC TRAIN

BLASTED ITS WHISTLE THREE TIMES.

THEY HAD NEVER SEEN
A TRAIN BEFORE,

AND THE NEZ PERCE
BEGAN A MOURNFUL SONG.

"IT SOUNDED," ONE ONLOOKER SAID,
"LIKE A DEATH CHANT."

THEN, JOSEPH AND HIS PEOPLE
WERE LOADED ONTO THE TRAIN.

THEY WERE NOT GOING HOME,
THEY WERE NOW TOLD,

BUT FAR AWAY,

INTO EXILE IN THE NORTHEASTERN
CORNER OF INDIAN TERRITORY

IN WHAT IS NOW OKLAHOMA --

NEARLY 2,000 MILES FROM
THEIR BELOVED WALLOWA VALLEY.

ONCE THERE, THEY FOUND
CONDITIONS UNSANITARY,

MEDICINE SCARCE.

SIXTY-EIGHT OF THEM PERISHED
IN THE FIRST YEAR ALONE.

SOON, THEY HAD A CEMETERY
SET ASIDE SOLELY FOR BABIES,

WITH 100 GRAVES.

AMONG THE NEZ PERCE WHO DIED WAS
AN OLD MAN NAMED HALAHTOOKIT,

OR "DAYTIME SMOKE."

ACCORDING TO JOSEPH’S PEOPLE,

HE WAS THE HALF-INDIAN SON
OF WILLIAM CLARK,

THE AMERICAN EXPLORER
THE NEZ PERCE HAD SHELTERED

MORE THAN 70 YEARS EARLIER...

THE MAN WHO HAD FIRST PROMISED

THAT THE UNITED STATES
WOULD ALWAYS BE THEIR FRIEND.

GOOD WORDS DO NOT LAST LONG.

GOOD WORDS DO NOT PAY
FOR MY DEAD PEOPLE.

THEY DO NOT PAY
FOR MY COUNTRY,

NOW OVERRUN BY WHITE MEN.

GOOD WORDS WILL NOT
GET MY PEOPLE A HOME

WHERE THEY CAN LIVE IN PEACE
AND TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES.

I AM TIRED OF TALK
THAT COMES TO NOTHING.

IT MAKES MY HEART SICK WHEN
I REMEMBER ALL THE GOOD WORDS

AND BROKEN PROMISES.

YOU MIGHT AS WELL EXPECT
THE RIVERS TO RUN BACKWARD

AS THAT ANY MAN
WHO WAS BORN A FREE MAN

SHOULD BE CONTENTED
WHEN PENNED UP

AND DENIED LIBERTY
TO GO WHERE HE PLEASES --

CHIEF JOSEPH.