Original subtitles

Is hereby sentenced to death for armed resistance

as provided by the decree issued October 3rd, 1865

in the name of his Imperial Highness

Emperor Maximilian I.

For the last time, Sierra. Where is Miguel Cordoba?

In better company, I hope.

On my honor as a French soldier,

I am offering you your life.

Sierra, you were with him when he attacked the treasury.

Where'd he take that gold?

Find Miguel and ask him.

You have nothing more to say, eh, Sierra?

Viva Juarez! Viva Mexico!

Ready!

Aim!

Good evening, folks.

ALL: Evening, Major.

We're gonna have to keep pushin' ahead tomorrow.

We've been movin' along with about the speed of a three-legged tortoise.

It's the heat that's gettin' them down.

Yeah.

You look pretty tired out yourself.

Don't bother about me.

No, I'd get some rest if I were you.

Listen, any time I can't pound leather

with a young shorthorn like you,

I'll just draw my pension, buy me a rockin' chair,

and start rockin'.

Good evening, Lorrie. How's Ben tonight?

Poorly, Major. He's layin' in there all cramped up and dizzy.

He's sleepin' now, thank goodness.

You're sure it ain't the fever, Major?

Well, it didn't look like that to me when I saw him this mornin'.

I figure it was just plain sunstroke.

What'd you think, Flint?

Well, it's hard to tell them apart,

but that's the way it looked to me.

You're telling me the truth, aren't you, Major?

Lorrie Smith, I couldn't take the chance on leavin' your wagon

stayin' on this train if I thought it was a fever.

I'd have to move you at least a quarter of a mile back to keep it from spreadin'.

You just keep on givin' Ben water all you can.

I'll be back later.

Thank you, Major.

More of them are gonna drop if this heat keeps up.

A steady diet of fresh buffalo meat

and no salt that does it.

You know, Flint, first thing in the mornin',

why don't you scout on up ahead

and see if you can locate a salt lick.

If we don't get some salt,

we'll be out before we get to Fort Casper.

You hand me some pretty tall orders, Major.

Salt licks don't come with signs on them.

Or do you expect me to use a forked stick and tom-toms?

You just follow them buffalo trails till you find some blue rock.

You know what you're doin', and don't you come back here without salt.

Major, you know you couldn't get along without me.

Aw, go on. Get yourself some sleep.

It's a good thing for you you didn't serve under me in the Army.

Well, if I had, you might have made general.

Who's there?

Bernal Sierra.

I don't know who you are, but come on in... on foot.

Put your gun down. I'm a friend.

Who do you want?

The wagon master.

I don't know.

All right, come on.

Give me some more of that dishwater of yours.

Major, this fella here's been followin' the train.

I'm Bernal Sierra.

Seth Adams. Howdy.

I would like to join you.

Well, we're gettin' kinda short on rations,

We've been on the trail for 56 days.

Where'd you come from?

Kansas City.

When'd you leave?

Oh, three weeks ago.

Three weeks? Six hundred miles in three weeks?

That must've been kind of a lonesome ride for ya.

Well, sometimes I talk to my horse.

That'd drive me bats... nothing to talk to but a horse for 600 miles.

Further that that, amigo.

Mexico?

Yeah.

What's that you got there?

A little memento.

A French bullet.

By the way, how's the war goin' down there?

As far as I'm concerned, the war is over.

When I left Benito Juarez,

he was a sick man hiding in the hills.

You picked a fine time to pull out, didn't you?

Why not?

Only a fool fights for a lost cause.

I see.

Well, you can ride with us as far as Fort Casper.

I'll expect you to lend a hand wherever you can.

Hawks there will show you a place to bunk. Good night.

Buenas noches.

HAWKS: Come on, this way.

I don't cotton much to hombres like him

any more than I do to that Austrian Archduke Maximilian.

What's an Austrian doin' runnin' Mexico anyway?

Kicked out Juarez, their duly elected president.

Made himself emperor, no less.

Do you think the Mexicans wanted that?

Not the real Mexicans.

It was forced down their throat by the French.

Now rats like this are runnin' away.

Don't let it bother you, Major.

It's bad for you digestion.

My what? Your digestion.

Listen, if you haven't ruined my digestion with your cooking, so-called,

I'll guarantee you that Maximilian will never ruin it.

Well, anyway, Juarez is only one little Indian.

Why, you ignorant ape!

Maximilian can call himself the Queen of the May

if he wants to, but he's no Benito Juarez!

Did you ever see him, Major?

Hmm. Sure did.

About ten years ago when I was stationed down in Texas.

He was fightin' a civil war then, and he won it,

just like Abe Lincoln won ours.

Funny thing... he stood about two heads shorter than Abe,

but I wanna tell you, when you looked at Benito Juarez,

you knew you were lookin' at a man.

Who is he, Perdida?

I don't know.

Seemed to recognize you.

Maybe you reminded him of somebody.

Those people back there...

Who, the Reardons?

Oh, they're real fine folk, well-liked, too, especially Mrs. Reardon.

Did you ever see a woman that good-lookin'?

Never.

Bernal! But they said you were executed!

It was like seeing a ghost!

Hello, Perdida.

How did you escape?

I promised to get out of the country, never to return.

So they let me go.

You're glad to see me alive, huh?

How can you ask such a thing? You know I am.

What about you? Are you happy here?

Happy? No, Bernal.

Someday, perhaps.

Everything is still too close.

Tell me about Miguel.

It is hard to speak of him.

I would like to know.

What did you hear?

Oh, all kinds of things... Mostly rumors.

The Imperialista agents killed him!

President Juarez sent us with the gold to Villa Rosa,

near the border, to buy guns.

We met Casey Reardon there.

The man you were with?

Yes. He was the go-between with the Americans.

The guns were still in Texas.

Miguel bargained about terms.

The price was too high.

So Casey left to see if his people would take less.

We waited two days for him.

In the morning, I went to the market.

When I returned, the gold was gone.

Miguel was lying there...

with his throat cut.

What else?

Next day, Casey returned.

With the guns?

No. The Americans still wanted their price.

Casey stayed ten days,

expecting somebody else from Juarez.

No one came.

No gold, no guns.

Bernal, you know how it was between Miguel and myself.

While he as alive, I could stand anything...

The filth, the fear, hunger.

Nothing was too hard for me.

But after he was gone, I had no strength,

no will, no hope.

Casey was kind to me.

I went with him.

I'm his wife now.

I know what you think. To marry again so soon...

Ah, it doesn't matter what I think.

I made a coward's bargain for my life.

I'm a traitor, a deserter.

Ah, poor Miguel.

I remember the day he married you,

the love in his eyes, the pride.

You were beautiful then, Perdida.

You still are.

Miguel would not want you to be alone.

He would have understood.

And you? Do you understand?

Can I do less than Miguel?

Good morning, Perdida.

Good morning, Bernal.

I thought you said you didn't know him?

It was dark last night. My name is Sierra.

Casey Reardon. Glad to know you.

My pleasure.

Bernal knew Miguel.

He was a very good friend of mine.

Nice fellow... Miguel.

Too bad about what happened to him.

You direct from Mexico?

No, the French put me on a boat to New Orleans.

I went up the river to Kansas City.

They told me another wagon train wouldn't leave for a month.

I couldn't wait that long.

First time I ever heard of a man

hittin' the Overland Trail alone and livin' to tell about it.

We're headed for California. You, too?

Mm-hmm.

What you figure to do out there?

Oh, maybe, uh...

look for gold.

Oh, chasin' that yellow stuff.

You're liable to end with your bones in the desert.

That happens sometimes.

Not to us, it won't.

Me and my brothers here, we like to play it safe.

You see these casks?

Best quality Napoleon brandy.

We figure to sell it in San Francisco.

They're getting $3 a jolt for good brandy up there.

I'd like for you to try it.

Oh, thanks. It's a little early for me.

Not for this stuff. Wait till you taste it.

How 'bout it, Hughie? Let's have some.

A little pick-me-up never hurt.

Barrels of Napoleon brandy, huh?

You must have paid a lot of money for them.

I'm glad Perdida found herself a rich man.

Me, rich? Mister, we're travelin' light.

Practically everything I got worth anything is in that liquor.

I picked it up in Mexico

when a French Quartermaster's back was turned. Savvy?

Oh.

Well...

to that gold you're lookin' for.

Salud.

Ahh.

I never had any use for the French,

but you can't beat their brandy.

How 'bout it, Hughie? Let's have some more.

It's a crime what they're doin' to your people.

For a while, I thought Juarez had a chance.

I even went down there to try and help him out,

but now it looks like they'll overrun the whole country.

It might have been different if Juarez would have gotten those guns.

I kept my part of the bargain.

It's not my fault if they found Miguel with his throat cut.

I know, and all the money gone.

What's the use of crying over it?

That won't change anything.

She's right.

Nothing we say can help Juarez now...

or bring Miguel back.

The future... that's what you ought to think about.

There's a great day waitin' for us all in California.

Here we are. This time, to Perdida.

No, thanks. Brandy doesn't agree with me...

especially French Brandy.

Somebody's going to die.

Pallbearers in the sky.

They always know.

Funny what a man'll drink to...

and what he won't.

He's dangerous, Casey. One of the best men Juarez had.

Yeah, well, you gotta be smart and careful,

real careful, or else we'll never get

what's in those barrels out to California.

What'd he call them?

Pallbearers in the sky.

Well, maybe he's right. Maybe somebody is gonna die...

but who?

Maybe that's something even those buzzards don't know.

Ben wouldn't want no prayin', Major. He weren't no believer.

Are you?

So am I.

So that makes two against one,

but I'll keep it short for Ben.

Oh, Heavenly Father,

receive the soul of Benjamin Smith

unto the gates of Thy Kingdom

and forgive him anything he should be forgiven for.

Amen.

ALL: Amen.

Come along, folks.

It's gonna be another scorcher.

Well, if that McCullough doesn't find us a salt lick pretty soon,

we're in for some real trouble.

Yeah.

Fourteen people now since Fort Kearney,

buried right along the trail.

He won't stay there long.

Coyotes scratch the dirt away, the wind blows,

and those pallbearers of yours finish the job.

Come on!

Whoa!

Ha! Ha!

Ha!

Hey, Reardon, what's holdin' you up back there?

We're bogged down!

Ha!

You'll have to lighten your load.

Get a couple of men to help you.

Hawks, Sierra, give him a hand.

Ha, get there.

All right, try it now, Mrs. Reardon.

Ha! Ha!

MAJOR ADAMS: Ha! Ha!

Ha!

Ha! Ha!

Ha!

Hold it, hold it!

Take them barrels off of there.

Come on, get it unloaded. Ha!

When I want your help, I'll ask for it.

All right, amigo.

Art...

Give me a hand with this, will ya?

Yeah.

Brandy is a heavy drink, huh?

It takes a man to drink it.

And to carry it.

Come on, give him a hand here.

Give him a hand here.

All right, let's try it again.

Give him a hand, boys.

Ha!

ALL: Ha!

Flint McCullough reporting for duty, Major Adams.

We've got no time for your jokes now, McCullough.

Did you find a salt lick?

I sure did, about ten miles due north of here.

Well, get a work party. Take Sierra and Hawks and get a wagon-load of it.

Right. And snap out of it.

Ha!

Come on, boys. Hurry it up there!

Ha! Let's get loaded, everybody.

Man, this is tougher than clearin' pasture in Vermont.

It's good for you, gives you an appetite.

Appetite? For what, more buffalo meat?

All I keep dreamin' about is real good food.

Last night, I had ham and eggs.

Tonight, order some enchiladas and tamales for me.

Hey, look it here.

Couldn't have been any closer.

I wonder where that came from.

MAN: It's Flint McCullough.

What happened?

Somebody took a shot at us, almost got Sierra.

Over that rock formation!

Only caught a glimpse of him, though. Indian, most likely.

Pretty good shot for an Indian.

Only one of them?

Seemed to be.

Let's go take a look.

I'll go with you.

Hawks, you cover us.

Right.

Up there.

All right, I'll climb here. Art, you keep to my right.

Sierra, you take the other side.

Let's go.

Sierra... he shot me.

What's the matter with you, Sierra?

Trigger happy?

I'm sorry. I mistook you for that Indian.

Put your gun away before you shoot up somebody else.

This arm is bad. The bone shattered.

Better take him back to the wagon.

All right, get him there as soon as you can.

Whoa.

I guess they're looking for somebody else, huh?

Ha.

Well, accidents happen.

My gun arm, too.

Art prides himself on his draw.

Here, let me have that.

You won't be usin' it for a while.

You don't see many of those around here.

Ten millimeter.

French Le Mat.

You picked that up in Mexico, too?

A present to my little brother.

Take care of it, Hughie.

As I was saying, accidents happen.

Maybe it wasn't an accident.

He knows what it was.

Shoot first, then ask questions, is that it?

An old yellow-back trick?

I guess we can expect that of a chili-picker.

You don't like chili?

How's the boy's arm?

It will take a long time to heal.

But he'll use it again.

I don't know what went on out there,

and I don't know what goes on between you people,

but I'll tell you one thing... there's not gonna be any trouble on this wagon train.

I never wanted any trouble, Major.

We've got enough without people startin' a feud.

So you stay away from each other, you hear?

Sierra...

You listen here, fella.

I let you join up with us against my better judgment,

and if I hear one more word about you having trouble,

you'll leave pronto, you understand?

He tried to kill me.

That's your story.

You were a soldier once, weren't you, Major?

That's right.

Look at the markings on these bullets.

Oh, they're unusual.

I don't know, but my guess would be about ten millimeter French Le Mat.

What about it?

That's the bullet that went through my hat this morning.

Why don't you ask him to show you his gun?

Let me take a look at that gun.

Lots of folks carry them French guns.

Not on this wagon train.

So you just better watch yourselves.

Good evening, Bernal.

Perdida.

I wanna talk to you.

Well?

Have I changed much, Bernal?

The sun dries a woman's skin.

The wind burns it.

You will have your beautiful complexion again in California.

Still so far away.

At night, my body aches with weariness.

I like to hear the sound of the guitar.

It reminds me of home.

I have no heart for it.

Casey is such...

You will win, Bernal.

I know you from before.

You are stronger.

Stronger than who?

My husband... a man who hides behind his brothers.

Why should he?

Speak plainly with me, Bernal.

Well, what do you want me to say?

You came for the gold.

Do you know what happened to it?

You want it for yourself.

Where is it?

Casey never told me.

It may not even be with the train.

What about his brothers?

Do they know?

They never talk about it.

Bernal, if I help you, if I find out where it is,

will you share it with me?

We could have a good life together.

We're alike, Bernal.

We know the worst about each other.

In the old days, when I looked at you,

sometimes I was almost sorry I met Miguel first.

I hate Casey.

Take me away from him.

What about the gold?

Before we reach Fort Casper,

I'll get it out of him where he hides it,

and then we'll go away together.

Is it a bargain, Bernal?

You ungrateful wench!

You think you can come to me, Miguel's friend,

with his blood on your hands, and make a bargain?

I had nothing to do with Miguel's death!

I told you I was at the market when he was killed,

and Casey was across the border!

I don't know how or where he got the money!

You said Casey waited ten days at Villa Rosa.

You're a liar!

I was there three days after Miguel was killed.

I buried him with my own hands.

You left him alone in that room like a dog!

And another thing... His throat wasn't cut.

He was shot.

I found this in the wall.

It came from the gun Casey gave his brother.

Look at it. Look at it!

That's the bullet that killed your husband.

I didn't know!

I didn't look at Miguel. I was afraid. I hid.

Casey found me two days later.

Believe me, Bernal, believe me!

First you betray Miguel,

now you're ready to betray Casey,

and you want me to believe you?!

I swear to you, I'm innocent!

Casey is the one who should pay!

He will!

But the important thing now is that Benito Juarez can still win...

if he gets those guns.

You tell Casey there's only one way he can save his life...

To give me the gold.

Tell him if he doesn't come to me before we reach Fort Casper...

that I'll go to him.

Go on, tell him.

Your go, Casey.

You've been gone a long time. What kept you?

I ran into Sierra.

Yeah? What'd he want?

Perdida, I'm talking to you!

He tried to make love to me.

He wants me to leave you.

A man has a right to stop another man takin' his wife away.

That's the unwritten law, ain't it?

Come on, Hughie. You, too, Perdida.

She told me.

I didn't expect you so soon.

No? You try to steal my wife, and I'm supposed to take it layin' down?!

Is that what you told him?

It's true.

And if you say it ain't, you're a liar.

You've got a gun, Sierra.

If you don't like me calling you that, why don't you draw it?

Thievin', gutless chili-picker, like the rest.

That includes your Benito Juarez.

Hold it!

You two have been itchin' to get at each other.

Well, there's a good old-fashioned American way of doin' it.

Now drop those gun belts, both of you.

All right, now get at it.

Thanks, Major.

Say that again.

Say it! Say it!

Say it again! Say it again! Say it again!

Stop it! He'll kill him!

He asked for it.

That's enough! That's enough! Sierra!

Ask your wife again what my message was.

All right, get back to your wagons, boys.

Go on, all of you. Get back.

Feel better now, huh?

What was all that talk about not fightin' for a lost cause?

I guess I didn't hear you right

when you said you was through with Benito Juarez.

Come on, amigo. I'll buy you a drink.

Casey?

Brandy, Casey?

Oh. Thanks.

Maybe it'll give me an appetite.

Would you like me to play you something?

Sure. Why not?

Well, what's eatin' you?

♪

Heat makes a man jumpy.

You ain't hot, Casey.

You're scared.

Scared? Me?

Stop that!

A lot of Mexican noise!

Can't a man have a little quiet?!

There's only one place you can find quiet...

In the grave.

In the grave.

Well, we're rollin' right along now.

We always perk up when we get this close to a town.

I'll be leaving you pretty soon.

Well, as far as I'm concerned,

you can stay till we get clear to California.

Thanks, Major, but my journey ends at Fort Casper.

I'm sorry to hear that, amigo.

How far away are we?

Well, if we keep up this pace,

I reckon we ought to get there about noon tomorrow.

Come on, boys. Close them up, close them up.

Keep them rollin'.

Where's your brother?

You mean to tell me he's been like this for two whole days?

Yes, Major.

You know anything about this?

I thought first it was from the heat,

like the others, but now...

You're sure it's the fever, huh?

Calentura.

We saw much of it in Mexico.

Mrs. Reardon, you took a lot on your own shoulders not tellin' me this.

Fever could spread through the train like wildfire.

Major, Casey wants to talk with you.

Just promise me one thing!

I'll do whatever I can for you.

If I die, don't bury me out here along the trail.

Take me to some place where there's consecrated ground.

You're worryin' about that a little early, ain't you?

No use foolin' myself, Major.

I know I'm through.

I've done some things in my life

I don't like to remember.

So I'd like a proper burial in some holy place.

Don't you worry any about that, Reardon.

Fort Casper's only three hour's ride from here.

I'll send one of my boys on ahead to fetch a doctor.

He'll pull you through, all right.

I'll ride on in, Major.

All right, but make it fast.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Reardon. We'll have to pull your wagon out of the train.

You stay a good ways back. We'll keep an eye on you, though.

I'll drive, and you stay with the train.

There's enough sickness already.

You know, that Reardon's a lucky man.

She's a good help mate.

So was the devil's wife.

The doctor will have to be paid well.

Don't worry. I can make a deal.

What about these barrels of brandy?

I'll take care of that. Now hurry!

Ha! Ha!

A fever of the calentura's a terrible thing.

In my country, I've seen it wipe out

a whole village in less than a week.

Yeah, I know.

Wooster, what the devil are you putterin' with?

Oh, this. This is an old Cherokee charm against the fever.

You put this little bag, and you wear it around your neck.

What's in it?

Crushed sow bugs.

Of course, you have to stand downwind of people when you're usin' it.

Downwind or upwind, I don't reckon

there's ever any charm made that'd do you any good.

Oh, Major. Here's the doctor.

Good evening, gentlemen. My name's Morrow.

Seth Adams.

Sure appreciate you comin' out here, doctor.

Well, sir, it was me or nobody.

I'm the only physician at Fort Casper.

We're not exactly a metropolis yet.

As for answering your call for help, well, I'm just doing my duty.

The boys here will show you where the wagon is.

Oh, good. This way, doc.

Well, I better get some sleep. Buenos noches.

Good night, amigo.

Sow bugs?

Phew.

That's our wagon, out there by that fire.

Yes, I see it.

You're very wise not to come with me.

Come on, girl.

We better get back, keep an eye on that Sierra guy.

He's still there.

Yeah, I guess he gets tired, just like the rest of us.

How is the sick man?

What do you want?

I came to pay him a visit.

You're not afraid of the fever?

There are worse things than that.

You'll have to wait. The doctor's with him.

What do you want?

I wanna talk to him.

You can't. He's in a coma.

The man's dying!

You heard what he said! He's dying!

Let me go to him!

Have you no pity?!

As much as he had for Miguel.

I looked through all of your things at the river.

Didn't find anything.

Could be in one of these.

Still after the gold.

Who would hide it in such a place?

I don't know.

Maybe that's what he wanted me to think.

You know, a good host serves Napoleon brandy.

A little joke to play on the simple chili-picker.

If you believe that, you're a fool!

Sit down.

This is most unseemly!

Can't you let a man die in peace?!

Not this man.

You believe me now?

The man needs a priest, and you come here for this?!

What in tarnation is that?

Sounds like it's comin' from the Reardon wagon.

We better have a look.

Sierra! What the devil do you think you're doin'?!

The gold he stole from Juarez...

I told him there was no gold! He wouldn't let me go to Casey!

He's like a madman!

You think I'm a madman, Major?

You're givin' a pretty good imitation of one.

Mr. Reardon is dead.

I did all I could, but I got here too late.

I'm sorry, Mrs. Reardon.

Take that devil away!

Leave me alone with my husband!

I think that would be best.

The first few moments after a loved one passes on are always the most difficult.

Well, we'll have to bury him right away, I guess.

Well, now, his last request was that he be interred at Fort Casper.

Now, I could take the body with me in the morning,

and if Mrs. Reardon wishes, she can come along and make all the arrangements.

I'm also the undertaker.

Well, I guess that's all right,

provided you get started first thing in the morning.

Oh, certainly, sir.

As a physician, I appreciate your concern

over the possible spread of contagion.

Oh, and by the way, Major, if you should need

any medical supplies or other sundries at Fort Casper,

please don't hesitate to call on me. Yeah.

I also own the pharmacy.

What was all that talk about Juarez and the gold?

Forget it, amigo.

I'd like to help you, Sierra.

I was sure, but it's not here,

and the man who knew is dead.

Well, Major, I go back to Mexico.

Where the devil do you suppose that McCullough is?

You know McCullough.

Yeah, a squaw in every fort, I guess.

Major Adams, how good of you to come.

Thank you.

Poor Mr. Reardon.

I only knew him a few moments, but from all I hear,

he was a gentleman of sterling qualities.

It's and honor and privilege to have put him away.

Oh, excuse me. Here come the bereaved.

My dear Mrs. Reardon, I'm glad to see you bearing up so bravely.

Is the priest here yet?

Any moment, dear lady.

I believe you'll find everything just as requested.

Nothing's too good for Casey. We want all the trimmings.

Oh, you have it, sir.

Shall we?

Mrs. Reardon.

Thank you for coming, Major.

It's the least we could do, Mrs. Reardon.

I hate to bring up anything like this at this time,

but we're gonna be pulling out as soon as we get loaded up.

I wonder if you folks are going with us.

No, Major. Without Casey...

I understand, ma'am.

We'll be going back to our folks in Kansas City, Major.

I see.

Shall we all go in now, please?

There he is, Major.

I'll see you girls at the Longhorn Saloon, all right?

Fine way to come to a funeral.

That's the way I want people to come to mine.

Why don't you gentlemen seat yourselves in the rear row over here?

♪

Open the coffin.

Open it?

I wanna take a look at him.

B-But, sir, it's customary under the circumstances,

t-the cause of death being what it was... Go on.

But, sir, the widow...

She expressly requested that the coffin be kept...

Open it.

You got what you came for.

Pay my respects to your Presidente, will you?

And tell him for me that Abe Lincoln had some real rough days, too,

and the roughest of all was the day before Gettysburg.

I'll tell him.

Say, one thing...

We all know that that doctor was in cahoots with him,

but how did you know that Casey wasn't dead?

No buzzards.

Those pallbearers in the sky... They always know.

Good-bye, amigo.

Viva Juarez. Viva Mexico.

Vaya con Dios, señor.

Let's go, Burrito.

You are worth your weight in gold to my Presidente.