All language subtitles for The American West - 01x03 - Blood & Gold.WEB-DL.BTN.English.HI.C.edit.Addic7ed.com

Narrator: Previously
on "The American West"...

Not even 100 years old,

America finds itself in
a crippling depression

and on the verge of a war on two fronts.

In Missouri, ex-Confederates
like Jesse James

are terrorizing Northern
banks and railroads...

C'mon, Frank.

Forcing businesses to hire

famed private detective Allan Pinkerton

to take him down.

He's ruthlessly
violent and good with a gun.

When do I leave?

Narrator: Further west,

George Armstrong Custer

has confirmed rumors of gold

in the Black Hills of South Dakota,

setting off a massive gold rush.

But the country's
solution to its financial crisis

may lie in the heart of
sacred Indian territory,

land that Lakota leaders Crazy
Horse and Sitting Bull

aren't going to give up without a fight.

(theme music playing)

- Synced and corrected by VitoSilans -
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(birds chirping)

Narrator: Midway through
his second term as president,

Ulysses S. Grant has watched the push

to settle the West and heal the nation

come to a halt

as America suffers through
a brutal depression.

If you are president during
an economic depression,

your standing is gonna fall.

And this was the
worst economic depression

in American history up to that time.

Narrator: But Grant
believes he's found a solution...

the gold in the Black
Hills of South Dakota.

The only problem...

it's on land that Grant surrendered

to the Lakota Sioux nine years earlier.

Mark Lee Gardner: The United
States government wanted the Black Hills,

merchants wanted the Black Hills,

gold seekers wanted the Black Hills.

They had a treaty. They
couldn't just take the Black Hills.

Narrator: Maintaining a
peaceful relationship with the Indians

has been one of
Grant's proudest achievements

since taking office,

and he knows that going
back on his peace policy

would only reignite the conflict.

In a last-ditch effort

to avoid all-out war with the Indians,

Grant proposes a deal.

The government offers to
buy back the Black Hills

from the Lakota Sioux for
six million dollars...

$100 million in today's money.

Over 1,200 miles away from Washington...

word of the offer soon
reaches respected leader

Sitting Bull...

(speaking Lakota language)

who knows his people now
need to make a decision.

He gathers a council of Lakota leaders,

including the fierce
warrior Crazy Horse.

Robert Redford: I think Native Americans'
relationship with the land

was very tight and had
a spiritual component

because they believed that
they were connected

to the land, they came from the land.

So they had a very close relationship

with the land,

much more than people from outside did,

who looked at the land in
a more superficial way.

_

_

_

_

Narrator: To the
Lakota, the Black Hills are more

than just a place to live and hunt...

they're essential to their culture.

The Black Hills is important
and sacred to us

because that's where our
creation story comes from.

There's a place called Wood Cave there

that many of us believe that's
where we came from.

We value the land and the animals

just as much as we do people.

Gold had no meaning, no value to us.

Karl Jacoby: Of all the
places the United States

could've wanted the Lakota to sell...

the Black Hills were the worst place

that they could've chosen.

Sitting Bull famously picks
up a little pinch of dirt

and he holds it up, and he says

"I don't wanna sell any more land,

not even as much as this
little pinch of dirt."

These just came in.

Narrator: The Lakota Sioux
reject the government's offer,

and Grant's hope for
peace is slipping away.

H.W. Brands: Grant sympathized
with the plight of the Indians.

But he also understood that
he was losing that battle.

He was losing the battle with
respect to Indian policy.

Ultimately, unless the American people

were gonna tolerate
this, it simply wouldn't stand.

With all due respect, sir,

you have exhausted every
political option available

in dealing with the Sioux.

Our own people are starving.

It is no longer a sustainable objective.

It's time we start
looking at military options.

Issue a proclamation.

All the members of the Sioux tribe

must report to an
appointed Indian reservation

no later than February 1st, 1876.

And those that don't report?

They will be considered hostile

and treated as such.

Narrator: After years of
trying to establish peace

with the Indians,

President Grant is now provoking a war.

This was the
administration's way of defeating

these
uncooperative... at least in their mind,

uncooperative Indians

and bringing them to terms.

(train whistle blows)

Narrator: While the government prepares

for conflict with the Indians,

nearly 700 miles away

another battle is being fought.

Jesse James has been on a crime spree

across Missouri and Iowa...

Come on. Let's go, let's go.

Narrator: fighting
for the Confederate cause

by robbing the Northern railroads

of their funds.

- Thank you.
- Narrator: In Chicago,

famed private detective Allan Pinkerton

is looking to put a stop to it.

He orders an ambitious
agent named Joseph Whicher

to travel to Missouri

and track down the notorious outlaw.

Once the Pinkertons get
on your trail, man,

they're not gonna stop

until you are done and out of business,

one way or the other.

Sir, may I trouble you for a moment?

Chicago. You're a long way from home.

There are wanted men in your area.

Jesse and Frank James,

they were spotted nearby recently.

- Is that right?
- Have you seen them?

Afraid I can't help you.

Jesse and his brother are dangerous men.

I can't help ya.

I'm staying at Goodman's boardinghouse.

If anything occurs to
you, I want to know.

Narrator: With no
help from the local law,

Whicher needs another way
to learn Jesse's location.

So he employs a tactic that
the Pinkertons had perfected...

going undercover.

Gardner: A key to the
very long, successful career

of Jesse James is unless
you grew up with him

or unless you
fought with him in the war,

no one knows what he looks like.

All the authorities have
are some eyewitness descriptions

which aren't very good.

He can't really be identified.

Good day, sir. How are ya?

I wonder if you could help me out?

I'm a little new to the area... I
was looking for the James farmhouse?

Gardner: It was very
dangerous for Joseph Whicher,

this Northerner from Chicago,

to go into Clay County where
Jesse had many friends

and try to somehow sniff
out the James Gang.

Narrator: To ex-confederates
across Missouri,

Jesse's fight against the
North has made him a hero,

and they'll do anything to protect him.

Narrator: Pinkerton
agent, Joseph Whicher,

is on the hunt for Jesse James,

hoping to end the
outlaw's reign of terror

against the North.

Hey. Good day, ma'am. How are ya?

Uh, my name is Henry. I'm looking for

- the James farmhouse.
- Oh, yeah, yeah.

Do you know... yeah?

Narrator: After days of
searching with no luck,

Whicher finally lands a lead...

the location of the farmhouse

belonging to Jesse's mother, Zerelda.

Thank you so much, ma'am. You
have a good day. Thank you, thank you.

Gardner: Jesse's mother, Zerelda James,

was outspoken, dominating.

The neighbors referred to
her as "Captain Zerelda."

There was a very, very strong bond

between her and her children.

Even the sheriff warned Joseph Whicher,

"If the James boys don't shoot ya,

Zerelda will shoot ya."

Yes?

Good day, ma'am. I'm Henry Johnson.

I saw your crops were nearly ripe.

I was wondering if
you need an extra hand

for the harvest.

Come on inside and let's talk.

I remember the days when no
self-respecting white man

would ever ask for farmwork.

Times sure have changed.

Yes... they have, ma'am.

Archie, will you fetch
me the sugar, please?

This is Archie, my youngest.

Hello.

Archie, say hello to Mr. Johnson.

- Hello.
- Thank you, dear.

- Sugar?
- Yes, please.

Gardner: Joseph Whicher had pale skin,

he had soft hands.

And he was going out to the James' farm

as some guy looking for
work as a hired hand,

and he just did not
fit that description.

Are you any good with a hammer?

I have a barn out
back that needs some work.

Sure thing, ma'am.

Right this way.

Seems pretty straightforward.

Jesse: I hear
you've been looking for me.

Which is funny because
I been lookin' for you.

I just wanna talk.

(gasps)

But we don't talk to Northern spies.

(Whicher gagging)

Narrator: Jesse
James and his brother Frank

have just killed top Pinkerton agent

Joseph Whicher.

Gardner: They kill him
for a couple of reasons.

They don't want
anybody with any knowledge

of what Jesse looks like,

but he wants to send a message...

"Don't send these
Northerners from Chicago

to intimidate me and my family.

Stay out of my turf."

Narrator: As Jesse
James claims another victory

in his personal war against the North...

nearly 1,000 miles away,

the Lakota Sioux have
been given an ultimatum

by the U.S. government...

move onto a reservation immediately...

or risk war.

_

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_

_

Narrator: Lakota leaders Sitting
Bull and Crazy Horse

defy President Grant's
order to move onto reservations,

knowing full well that
they'll now be considered enemies

of the United States Government.

In reality, they all
wanted the same thing,

to protect their women and children.

We never wanted to fight anyone.

But when the government got involved

and the army came,

then it just became a right or wrong.

Narrator: When President Grant learns

of hostile Indians
refusing to move onto reservations,

he has no choice but to take action.

He orders General William T. Sherman

to mobilize the U.S. Army in the West,

preparing for an
attack on the bands of Indians

led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.

But one man won't be leading
the charge this time.

After announcing
gold in the Black Hills,

George Armstrong Custer

is barred from taking
part in the upcoming battle.

Brands: Grant
eventually came to conclude

that Custer thought more about himself

and the image that he
cast than about the mission

or about the broader
outline of policy he was pursuing.

Eventually, Grant just
threw up his hands.

"There's nothing I can do with Custer."

Narrator: Left out of the
campaign against the Indians,

Custer begins to set his sights

beyond his military career.

It is a pleasure and
a privilege as usual.

Narrator: As Grant's
disastrous second term nears its end,

Custer sees an opening

to advance his own political ambitions.

Using his celebrity,
Custer begins meeting

with influential
politicians in Washington,

forming powerful
alliances that could help him

achieve his new goal
of becoming president.

A decorated war veteran like myself

might well be able to pull
off what you're planning.

Brands: Custer had a
following all his own.

Members of Congress would
invite him to come speak

and Custer would talk, and
he would persuade them.

In some ways, he had political clout

that Grant and Sherman didn't.

Now, they both outranked
him, but Custer had a following.

Narrator: But Custer is convinced

that if he's going to
secure a presidential nomination,

he's still missing one thing...

another big military victory.

You draw a picture of me?

Look at that.

Frank, come here.

Look at this.

Do you recognize that place?

Hey, man, I believe that is to scale.

(chuckles)

That is perfect.

Good job, little brother.

Narrator: After killing a top agent

from the most powerful detective agency

in the country,

Jesse James and his brother Frank

go back to life as usual.

Uh-oh.

Why am I frownin' and you smilin'?

I guess that is pretty accurate.

(door opens)

Thank you.

(door closes)

Narrator: For Allan Pinkerton,

the brutal murder of his top agent

has turned his hunt for Jesse James

into a personal mission for revenge.

Eisenbach: Jesse James is a symbol

of everything the
Pinkertons are against...

lawlessness, unredeemed
Southern insurrectionism.

If Jesse James was still out there

as a symbol that you can
get away with this stuff,

he had to be killed.

Pinkerton: If we can
get to this area here,

the mother's farmhouse...

they all live there together...

we'll stage the final raid.

Narrator: As a
private enforcement agency,

the Pinkertons are able to operate

outside the limits of the law.

Once everything's in place, we'll
drive them from the house

with this... a fire bomb.

A gift from an old Army
friend at the Rock Island Arsenal.

We flush them out,

and we take them down, all of them.

Shoot to kill.

Kiefer Sutherland: In many
cases if you look back,

a lot of people that
implemented law and order

were, in some cases, just as bad

as the criminal element themselves.

We're gonna burn that damn house down.

Wipe it from the face of the earth.

Do I make myself clear?

Detectives: Yes, sir.

Sutherland: That defining line

between a lawman and a criminal,

I think is much more blurred

in the times of the James Gang.

(crickets chirping)

Narrator: A group of Pinkerton
agents surround the James family home

after Jesse and Frank were spotted there

earlier in the day.

Gardner: Pinkerton
knew that the James boys

would at some point come to that house.

He had men ready, at least eight to ten.

Whenever they learned that
Jesse and Frank were at that farm,

he was gonna send those men in.

What are we waitin' for?

Allan Pinkerton plotted to bring about

the demise of the James brothers.

His instructions were not just to attack

or kill or capture Jesse.

His instructions were to
burn that house to the ground.

(clatters)

(fizzling)

Archie, get back!

Narrator: A late-night attack

ordered by Detective Allan Pinkerton

has destroyed the family
farm of Jesse James.

But the intended targets are miles away.

All right, boys, I want to
go over this one more time.

We're gonna start...

Damn it, Frank.

What the hell took you so long?

Them Pinkertons came by Mama's.

She's hurt.

Archie's dead.

(screams)

Gardner: The Pinkerton
men threw this fireball

into the James family home.

It exploded.

It rips off part of Zerelda's arm.

It sends a fragment into the
stomach of little Archie,

the half brother, who's
only eight years old.

It's a mortal wound.

Jesse James, who
really is already angry,

he's angrier now at the Pinkertons,

who he sees as representing
Northern tyranny and oppressors.

So this gives Jesse even
more cause to seek revenge.

Narrator: Five hundred miles
away in the heart of the West,

another conflict is escalating.

Led by their chief, Sitting Bull,

many Lakota have
defied President Grant's order

to report to a reservation.

Sitting Bull knows Grant
will see his actions

as a declaration of war,

so he begins
building a unified war party,

gathering tribes from across the West.

Pourier: At first it
was individual tribes

that were protecting
themselves against the government.

But, you know, at some point

they figure out, "Okay, we
gotta work together now."

Narrator: Nearly 4,000 warriors

from tribes like the
Cheyenne and the Arapaho

flock from Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska,

and the Wyoming Territory

to band together at the
Little Bighorn River.

It's the largest Indian force

the U.S. Army has ever seen.

(quacking)

Sherman: Our reports indicate
that around 1,000 Indian lodges

are based here.

We deploy Custer 1,200 men

to track down whatever remains

of Crazy Horse and
Sitting Bull's war party.

And if necessary, wipe them out.

Custer?

He has proven that he can take
on these savages and win.

He's our best option.

Have Custer report to General
Terry at Bismarck.

Eisenbach: Grant thought
Custer was a complete hothead.

He was a loose cannon.

He wasn't the military
guy that Grant liked,

which was somebody who
just followed orders.

But there's this popular outcry

to get Grant to reinstate Custer

for the big push into the Black Hills.

Narrator: After months of
building his political connections,

Custer is sent west to
the Montana Territory

to lead a regiment against one
of the largest Indian war parties

ever assembled in the U.S.,

giving him the
opportunity that could carry him

all the way to the White House.

Paul Hutton: Custer was ambitious.

He had great dreams, he
had the American dream.

There's been talk that
Custer hoped to get

the Democratic nomination for president.

He needs a big victory
to win glory once again

and, of course, move onward and upward.

Narrator: After a botched raid
has left his young brother dead,

Jesse James has declared a personal war

on the Pinkertons.

Eisenbach: Jesse James
sees the Pinkertons

as, like, the ultimate evil...

guys who are breaking constitutional law

in the interest of big business.

Narrator: As news of the
raid on the James' home

spreads throughout Missouri,

one man sees an
opportunity to use the tragedy

to rally the South
together for the Confederate cause.

I want to run this front page tomorrow.

"Men from Missouri...

who fought under Anderson...

it is not because of the robberies

for which they are accused.

It is because, like you,

they fought for the South.

Narrator: Newspaper
editor John Newman Edwards

frames the story of Pinkerton's raid

as a direct attack on the South

by a Northern enemy.

Gardner: The Pinkerton raid

turns all kinds of
sympathy to the James family.

They already had a little
sympathy from Southerners.

But now they see an eight-year-old
boy has been killed,

a mother has lost her child,

so the press, including John
Newman Edwards, have a field day

over what this Chicago
private firm has done

here in Clay County, Missouri.

Narrator: The articles
appeal to loyal southerners

and support for Jesse
James and his cause

is at an all-time high.

To show their support,

Missouri residents give
Edwards and his newspaper

the names of anyone who may
have aided the Pinkertons

for him to print in his paper.

And it isn't long before
Jesse tracks them down.

Gardner: One man who's
revealed to have helped Pinkerton

was Daniel Askew.

Pinkerton had a man
there acting as a hired hand

keeping watch on the house.

Daniel Askew makes the
mistake of not leaving Clay County.

(laughing)

Woman: Can you fetch us some
water for the dishes?

Daniel Askew.

Do you know who I am?

- Yes.
- That's good.

That seems like a nice
family you got in there.

Please.

Please what?

Whatever you do,

just please don't hurt my family.

That'd be...

that'd be pretty low, wouldn't it,

murder innocent women and children?

Yeah, I don't know if I
could stoop to something like that.

- But I guess, uh...
- (clicks)

you're gonna have to take me at my word.

Gardner: No one is ever brought to trial

for the murder of Jesse's half brother,

which, again, gives Jesse a reason

to seek his own justice.

If the law is not gonna
bring these guys to justice,

then Jesse's gonna do what he can.

Narrator: Five hundred miles away,

Allan Pinkerton is
dealing with the fallout

from his botched raid.

It was Allan
Pinkerton's greatest defeat,

his greatest humiliation.

Narrator: Pinkerton's reputation

for relentless justice is ruined.

And he's forced to back
away from the outlaw

he's been pursuing for the past year,

giving up on Jesse James for good.

General, we found them.

Where?

Camped along Little Bighorn.

Good job, soldier.

Hyah!

Narrator: In hopes of
securing a presidential nomination,

George Armstrong Custer is on a mission

to track down and
defeat a band of Sioux Indians.

Custer's leading one of
three columns of U.S. troops

heading toward
battle against Sitting Bull.

The campaign on the
Northern Plains in 1876

is one of the largest

the army had ever engaged
in in the Indian Wars.

Three great columns went forward...

one coming up from the South,

another coming out of Montana,

and then Custer's column

coming from Fort Abraham Lincoln.

Narrator: Together the battalions
make up a force

of nearly 1,500 troops...

with one goal in mind...

to destroy Sitting Bull's army.

But what the commanders don't realize

is that Lakota chief Sitting Bull

has gathered nearly 4,000
Indian fighters...

including the fearless
warrior Crazy Horse.

After hearing reports that
the U.S. Army is closing in,

Sitting Bull calls
together other Lakota leaders

and tells them of a
powerful vision he's had.

Pourier: There's certain ceremonies

where you go without food and water,

sometimes for four days.

During those times because of
what your body's going through,

people call it a vision

and because Sitting Bull is the chief,

a medicine man, and a healer,

his vision we all agreed
and honored and respected.

_

_

_

_

_

_

Pourier: He knew they were gonna win.

That's a powerful thing to know,

it's a powerful faith to have.

Where can we cross the river?

Down south here. Up here, further north.

How many warriors?

I've never seen a gathering this large.

Sitting Bull's
tribe, Crazy Horse's, too.

Also Arapaho, Cheyenne.

Do they know we're here?

I don't think so.

One hour. Get the men ready.

I will not let Sitting Bull
slip through my fingers.

Yes, sir.

Narrator: Instead of
waiting for the remaining

two columns of U.S. troops to arrive,

Custer orders his regiment

of just under 500 men to move out.

He leaves all his
heavy artillery behind,

determined to get all the glory

for defeating Sitting
Bull and his warriors.

Eisenbach: Custer is
a very ambitious man.

He thinks if he goes up
there, eliminates the Indians,

the windfall of all that
gold comes into the economy,

everybody sees him as a great hero

who bailed out the federal government

and now he can position himself

to become the commander-in-chief.

"President
Custer"... just think about that.

Narrator: As Custer rides out,

the Indians prepare for battle,

determined to fight for
their people's survival.

Jacoby: They're
defending their territory,

but they're also more immediately

defending their families.

They're trying to protect all of them

from the United States.

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