Original subtitles

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.

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 PAIUTE, SHOSHONE, MIWOK AND YOKUT, AND NAVAJO TO SURRENDER.,C,

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,

HERE AN INDIAN I WILL SEND MY CHILDREN TO HUNIS SHUT UP IN ONE PLACEICE,W

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."

NarratSTER 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, THEREYOUARE 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 WEREFALLING INTO THE VILLAGE,

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

MORE INDIAN OUT OF THE VIL LAGE,

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 ]

[ GUNSHOT ]

[ 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. A HARD FIGHT.

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 RS

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 IH, 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 ]

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.

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,

H FAA COMPLETE SURPRISEND,HOUG

TO THE INDIANS IN THE MAIN,

IVEN THEM A FEW MINUTES NOTICE, VE G

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 AWA

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 WOULDALWAYSBE THEIR FRIEND.

GOOD WORDS DO NOT LAST LONG.

GOOD WORDS DO NOT PAY FOR MY DEAD PEOPLE.

THEY DO NOT PAY FOR MY COUNTR

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 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.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

[ DRUM BEATS, CHANTING CONTINUES ]