Original subtitles

[ TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS ]

CONFIDENCE GOES A LONG WAY TOWARD SUCCESS.

AND THE CONFIDENCE OF THESE WESTERNERS IS SUPERB.

I HAPPENED, IN SEPTEMBER OF 1883,

TO BE IN THE CITY OF BISMARCK, IN DAKOTA,

WHEN THIS YOUNG SETTLEMENT

WAS LAYING THE CORNERSTONE OF ITS CAPITAL.

THE TOWN WAS THEN ONLY SOME FIVE YEARS OLD,

AND WAS GAILY DECORATED FOR THE OCCASION.

IN ONE OF THE SPEECHES

IT WAS PROVED THAT AS BISMARCK WAS THE CENTER OF DAKOTA,

DAKOTA THE CENTER OF THE UNITED STATES,

AND THE UNITED STATES THE CENTER OF THE WORLD,

BISMARCK WAS DESTINED TO BE THE METROPOLITAN HEARTH

OF THE WORLD'S CIVILIZATION.

HOWEVER, THE FEATURE OF THE CEREMONIAL

WHICH STRUCK US EUROPEANS MOST

WAS THE SPOT CHOSEN FOR THE CAPITAL.

IT WAS NOT IN THE CITY, NOR EVEN ON THE SKIRTS OF THE CITY.

IT WAS NEARLY A MILE OFF, ON THE TOP OF A HILL

IN THE BROWN AND DUSTY PRAIRIE.

"WHY HERE?" WE ASKED.

"IS IT BECAUSE YOU MEAN TO ENCLOSE THE BUILDING

IN A PUBLIC PARK?"

"BY NO MEANS," WAS THE ANSWER.

"THE CAPITAL IS INTENDED TO BE IN THE CENTER OF THE CITY."

"IT IS IN THIS DIRECTION THAT THE CITY IS TO GROW."

IT IS THE SAME EVERYWHERE

FROM THE PACIFIC TO THE MISSISSIPPI.

MEN SEEM TO LIVE IN THE FUTURE

RATHER THAN IN THE PRESENT.

THEY SEE THE COUNTRY NOT MERELY AS IT IS,

BUT AS IT WILL BE 20, 50, 100 YEARS HENCE --

LORD JAMES BRYCE.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

[ DRUM BEATS, CHANTING CONTINUES ]

[ MORE VOICES ADDED TO CHANTING ]

Narrator: BY 1877, THE AMERICAN CONQUEST OF THE WEST

WAS NEARLY COMPLETE.

FOR EVERY INDIAN IN THE WEST, THERE WERE NOW NEARLY 40 WHITES.

AND AS THE INDIAN WARS DREW TO A CLOSE,

THE LAST OBSTACLES TO AMERICAN DOMINATION DROPPED AWAY,

AND THE COUNTRY READIED ITSELF TO ASSERT CONTROL

OVER THE ENTIRE REGION.

BETWEEN 1877 AND 1887,

4 1/2 MILLION MORE PEOPLE CAME WEST.

ALMOST HALF SETTLED ON THE WESTERN PLAINS,

CREATING NEW TOWNS IN A REGION

ONCE THOUGHT TOO HARSH FOR HUMAN HABITATION --

BISMARCK AND CHAMPION,

EPIPHANY, WAHOO, AND NICODEMUS.

SOME CAME SEEKING FREEDOM, LAND OF THEIR OWN,

AND OPPORTUNITIES THEY COULDN'T FIND IN THE EAST.

WHILE OTHERS FOUND IN THE WEST A PLACE TO CHANGE THEMSELVES,

BECOME SOMEONE ELSE, START OVER.

BUT AS MORE AND MORE AMERICANS ARRIVED,

THERE WAS LESS AND LESS ROOM FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T CONFORM.

INDIANS WERE EXPECTED TO CHANGE OVERNIGHT...

TO FORGET THEIR OLD WAYS, AND MAKE THEMSELVES OVER

IN THE IMAGE OF THEIR CONQUERORS.

THE CHINESE, WHO HAD DONE MORE THAN ALMOST ANYONE

TO CONNECT THE WEST TO THE REST OF THE NATION

WOULD BE TOLD THAT THEY WERE NO LONGER WELCOME

ANYWHERE IN THE UNITED STATES.

MEXICAN-AMERICANS WERE OVERWHELMED BY THE NEWCOMERS,

EVEN IN TOWNS THEY HAD LIVED IN FOR CENTURIES,

WHILE THE MORMONS WERE FORCED TO SURRENDER PART OF THEIR RELIGION

IN ORDER TO SAVE THE REST OF IT.

BUT EVEN AS AMERICANS TRIED TO TAME THE WEST,

THEY PREFERRED TO REMEMBER A GAUDIER VERSION

FULL OF VIOLENCE, ADVENTURE, AND MOST OF ALL, ROMANCE --

A WILD WEST.

AND YET, BETWEEN 1877 AND 1887,

AMERICANS WOULD COME TO LEARN FIRSTHAND

JUST HOW WILD THE WEST COULD REALLY BE,

AND THAT NO CONQUEST COULD EVER BE COMPLETE.

Man: THE WEST IS ABOUT POSSIBILITIES.

AND SOMETIMES, THE PRICE OF SUCCESS

OF ONE GROUP'S POSSIBILITIES

IS GOING TO BE THE ENDING OF POSSIBILITIES FOR ANOTHER GROUP.

AMERICANS AREN'T WRONG IN SEEING THE WEST

AS THE LAND OF THE FUTURE,

OF SEEING A LAND IN WHICH ASTONISHING THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.

WHAT THEY OFTENAREWRONG ABOUT

IS THAT THERE'S NO PRICE TO BE PAID FOR THAT,

THAT EVERYBODY CAN SUCCEED, OR THAT EVEN WHAT SUCCEEDS

IS NECESSARILY THE BEST FOR EVERYONE CONCERNED.

THE WEST IS MUCH MORE COMPLICATED THAN THAT.

♪ OH, DOWN ON ME ♪

♪ DOWN ON ME ♪

♪ LOOK LIKE EVERYBODY ALL 'ROUND THE WORLD DOWN ON ME ♪

IN A FIT OF MADNESS I ONE DAY SAID TO THE MAN

I WAS RENTING FROM, "IT'S NO USE."

"I WORKS HARD AND RAISES BIG CROPS,

"AND YOU SELL IT AND KEEPS THE MONEY,

AND BRINGS ME MORE AND MORE IN DEBT.

"SO, I WILL GO SOMEWHERE ELSE AND TRY TO MAKE HEADWAY

LIKE WHITE WORKING MEN."

SO, I TOLD MY WIFE AND SHE SAYS,

"LET US TAKE TO THE WOODS IN THE NIGHT TIME."

WELL, WE TOOK TO THE WOODS, MY WIFE AND FOUR CHILDREN,

AND WE WAS THREE WEEKS LIVING IN THE WOODS

WAITING FOR A BOAT.

THEN A GREAT MANY MORE BLACK PEOPLE CAME,

AND WE WAS ALL TOGETHER AT THE LANDING.

BEFORE LONG, THEGRAND TOWERHOVE UP,

AND WE GOT ON BOARD.

SAYS THE CAPTAIN, "WHERE IS YOU GOIN'?"

SAYS I, "KANSAS" --

JOHN SOLOMON LEWIS.

Narrator: IN 1877, THE LAST FEDERAL TROOPS

WERE WITHDRAWN FROM THE SOUTH.

RECONSTRUCTION COLLAPSED,

AND NEW STATE LAWS BEGAN TO RESTRICT

THE RIGHTS OF FREED SLAVES.

AFRICAN AMERICANS FOUND THEMSELVES ONCE AGAIN

IN THE POWER OF THEIR FORMER MASTERS.

SOME FAVORED EMIGRATING TO LIBERIA, IN AFRICA,

OR NORTHWARD INTO CANADA.

TO OTHERS, THE OPEN SPACES OF THE WEST

SEEMED TO OFFER MORE IMMEDIATE HOPE.

CONDITIONS MIGHT BE BETTER A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW,

WHEN ALL THE PRESENT GENERATION'S DEAD AND GONE,

BUT NOT AFORE, SIR, NOT AFORE.

AND WHAT'S GOING TO BE A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW

AIN'T MUCH ACCOUNT TO US.

THE WHITES HAS THE LANDS AND THE SENSE,

AND THE BLACKS HAS NOTHING BUT THEIR FREEDOM.

AND IT'S JUST LIKE A DREAM TO THEM --

PAP SINGLETON.

Narrator: BENJAMIN "PAP" SINGLETON

WAS AN EX-SLAVE FROM TENNESSEE

WHO BELIEVED HIMSELF APPOINTED BY GOD TO RESCUE HIS PEOPLE.

HE HAD BECOME CONVINCED THAT THERE WAS NO FUTURE FOR BLACKS

UNLESS THEY LEFT THE SOUTH

AND FORMED THEIR OWN INDEPENDENT COMMUNITIES IN THE WEST.

Woman: KANSAS SEEMED LIKE AN IDEAL PLACE

FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE DISILLUSIONED

WITH THE BLACK CODES THAT HAD BEEN PASSED IN THE SOUTH,

THE MEANNESS OF THE KU KLUX KLAN,

THE MEANNESS OF THE SHARECROPPERS

WHO REALLY WEREN'T SHARING THE WAY THEY HAD AGREED.

AND THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO PAID $5,

FIVE BUCKS TO PAP SINGLETON TO COME UP THE RIVER

TO A NEW LIFE IN KANSAS.

Man: THE WEST HAS ALWAYS BEEN SEEN AS A PLACE OF OPPORTUNITY,

AND THIS WAS CERTAINLY AS TRUE FOR PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT

AS FOR ANYBODY ELSE.

SINGLETON AND OTHER LEADERS WEREN'T NECESSARILY DOING IT

FOR PURELY ALTRUISTIC REASONS.

LIKE A LOT OF GREAT WESTERNERS, THEY WERE SPECULATORS IN LAND

AND HOPED TO MAKE THEIR FORTUNES.

BUT THEY DID HAVE A VISION OF A PLACE

WHERE PEOPLE OF COLOR COULD BREATHE FREE,

COULD BE A PART OF THE WEST

AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT THE WEST HAS COME TO MEAN,

BOTH AT THAT TIME AND SINCE.

Narrator: THE BLACK EMIGRANTS CALLED THEMSELVES "EXODUSTERS,"

BECAUSE, LIKE THE OLD TESTAMENT HEBREWS,

THEY BELIEVED THEIR SALVATION LAY IN REACHING A PROMISED LAND.

SOON, BLACKS WERE SCATTERED ACROSS EASTERN KANSAS,

AND THEIR HOPEFUL LETTERS HOME

WERE BEING READ ALOUD IN BLACK CHURCHES.

THEN, IN THE SPRING OF 1879,

A RUMOR RACED THROUGH AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITIES

THROUGHOUT THE DEEP SOUTH

THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAD SET ASIDE ALL OF KANSAS

FOR FORMER SLAVES,

PROVIDING EVERY BLACK FAMILY THAT COULD GET THERE

WITH FREE LAND AND $500.

IT WASN'T TRUE,

BUT IT WAS ENOUGH TO CONVINCE SOME 6,000 PEOPLE TO START WEST.

SOME WENT BY RIVERBOAT AS FAR AS ST. LOUIS.

OTHERS, TOO POOR TO PAY THEIR PASSAGE,

WALKED THE WHOLE WAY.

♪ SHINE, SHINE, SHINE ♪

♪ SHINE LIKE A STAR IN THE MORNIN' ♪

♪ SHINE, SHINE, SHINE ♪

♪ ALL AROUND THE CENTER OF GOD ♪

[ HARMONICA PLAYS ]

♪ SHINE, SHINE, SHINE ♪

♪ SHINE LIKE A STAR IN THE MORNIN' ♪

♪ SHINE, SHINE, SHINE ♪

♪ ALL AROUND THE CENTER OF GOD ♪♪

♪ SHINE, SHINE, SHINE ♪

♪ SHINE LIKE A STAR IN THE MORNIN' ♪

♪ SHINE, SHINE, SHINE ♪

♪ ALL AROUND THE CENTER OF GOD ♪

GOVERNOR'S MANSION, TOPEKA, KANSAS.

LAST SATURDAY, I HAD A CALL

FROM A DELEGATION OF 100 LEADING COLORED MEN

FROM THE STATES OF MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA.

THEY SAID THAT THEY HAD RATHER DIE

IN THE ATTEMPT TO REACH THE LAND WHERE THEY CAN BE FREE,

THAN TO LIVE AND DIE IN THE SOUTH ANY LONGER --

GOVERNOR JOHN P. ST. JOHN.

Narrator: BY 1880, MORE THAN 15,000 AFRICAN AMERICANS

HAD MIGRATED TO KANSAS.

MOST OF THEM SETTLED ON FARMS AND IN SMALL COMMUNITIES

LIKE JUNIPER TOWN, DUNLAP, RATTLEBONE HOLLOW,

AND NICODEMUS.

Man:WHEN I LANDED ON THE SOIL OF KANSAS,

I LOOKED ON THE GROUND AND I SAYS, "THIS IS FREE GROUND."

THEN I LOOKED ON THE HEAVENS, AND I SAYS,

"THEM IS FREE AND BEAUTIFUL HEAVENS."

THEN I LOOKED WITHIN MY HEART,

AND I SAYS TO MYSELF, "I WONDER WHY I WAS NEVER FREE BEFORE?"

I SAID, "LET US HOLD A LITTLE PRAYER MEETING

ON THE RIVERBANK."

IT WAS RAINING, BUT THE DROPS FELL FROM HEAVEN

ON A FREE FAMILY,

AND THE MEETING WAS JUST AS GOOD AS SUNSHINE.

WE WAS THANKFUL TO GOD,

AND WE PRAYED FOR THOSE WHO COULD NOT COME.

I ASKED MY WIFE, DID SHE KNOW THE GROUND SHE STANDS ON?

SHE SAID, "NO." I SAID, "IT IS FREE GROUND."

AND SHE CRIED FOR JOY.

Man: THE WEST HAS ALWAYS BEEN, AND IT WILL ALWAYS BE,

A PLACE WHERE THERE'S A STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE,

AND WHERE NATURE STRIKES HEAVY BLOWS AT YOU.

BUT I THINK THAT'S PART OF THE WEST.

THAT'S GEOGRAPHY.

AND I THINK PART OF THAT CONQUERING OF THE WEST

SEEPED INTO THE AMERICAN CHARACTER.

IN MANY WAYS, THE WEST HAS BEEN A GEOGRAPHY OF HOPE

FOR THE COUNTRY AS A WHOLE.

Narrator: FOR 40 YEARS, AS AMERICANS MOVED WEST,

THE WESTERN PLAINS OF KANSAS, NEBRASKA, AND THE DAKOTAS

WERE PASSED OVER.

WITH BETTER LAND AVAILABLE ELSEWHERE,

THEY WERE CONSIDERED TOO DRY FOR HOMESTEADING.

BUT NOW, THE HUNGER FOR LAND

REACHED EVEN INTO THESE INHOSPITABLE PLACES.

THE RAILROADS AND THE STATES OUTDID THEMSELVES

TO LURE NEW SETTLERS.

Man: IT WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST CON JOBS IN HISTORY.

THEY HAD A PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN IN NEBRASKA

THAT I THINK WAS SPENDING A MILLION BUCKS A YEAR

BACK WHEN YOU COULD BUY A FANCY FIVE-COURSE DINNER FOR $1.25.

I MEAN, IT WAS ADVERTISING.

THEY HAD THEIR OWN MAGAZINES, BROCHURES,

THEY HAD JOURNALISTS ON THE TAKE.

I MEAN, IT WAS A PHENOMENON.

AND IN ORDER TO SELL IT, THEY DESCRIBED THESE, YOU KNOW,

BEAUTIFUL REGIONS WHERE YOU COULD RAISE A BOUNTIFUL HARVEST

OF PRACTICALLY ANYTHING,

AND SUMMER LINGERED INTO NOVEMBER,

AND BY FEBRUARY, IT WAS ALREADY SPRING --

AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NEBRASKA, AND PLACES LIKE THAT!

Narrator: AS IT HAPPENED, THE 1870s AND EARLY 1880s

WEREUNUSUALLY WET YEARS IN THE WEST.

THE PRAIRIES, PLOWED AND PLANTED FOR THE FIRST TIME,

YIELDED BUMPER CROPS.

PROMOTERS MADE THE MOST OF IT.

"THE PLAINS MIGHT ONCE HAVE BEEN DESERT-LIKE," THEY SAID,

"BUT NO LONGER."

THE CLIMATE ITSELF, THEY PROMISED, HAD CHANGED FOR GOOD,

AND IT WAS THE VERY PRESENCE OF SETTLERS THAT HAD CHANGED IT.

THE PLOW WILL GO FORWARD.

GODSPEED THE PLOW.

BY THIS WONDERFUL PROVISION,

WHICH IS ONLY MAN'S MASTERY OVER NATURE,

THE CLOUDS ARE DISPENSING COPIOUS RAINS.

THE PLOW IS MORE POWERFUL IN PEACE

THAN THE SWORD IN WAR.

THE INSTRUMENT WHICH SEPARATES CIVILIZATION FROM SAVAGERY

AND CONVERTS A DESERT INTO A FARM OR GARDEN.

TO BE MORE CONCISE, RAIN FOLLOWS THE PLOW --

CHARLES DANA WILBER.

Narrator: WITHIN 10 YEARS, NEARLY TWO MILLION PEOPLE

MIGRATED FARTHER ONTO THE PLAINS.

THE POPULATIONS OF COLORADO AND NEBRASKA DOUBLED.

SOUTH DAKOTA'S, MONTANA'S, AND WYOMING'S TRIPLED.

BUT AS IT TURNED OUT, RAIN DIDNOTFOLLOW THE PLOW.

THE WET YEARS CAME TO AN END.

MANY PLACES ON THE HIGH PLAINS EMPTIED

JUST AS QUICKLY AS THEY HAD FILLED WITH HOMESTEADERS.

BUT SOME STUBBORNLY HUNG ON.

Man: THERE'S NO QUESTION IN MY MIND

THAT THE SETTLERS ARE THE REAL HEROES.

YES, YES INDEED.

IN THIS HARSH COUNTRY -- MUCH OF IT HARSH AND FORBIDDING

AND DEMANDING, TOUGH COUNTRY --

THE FACT THAT PEOPLE COULD GO THERE,

AND ESTABLISH COMMUNITIES, AND MAKE A LIVING FOR THEMSELVES,

AND BUILD UP SOCIETY, I THINK THAT WAS A REAL TRIUMPH.

Man: IN A YEAR'S TIME, A HOMESTEADER WOULD ENCOUNTER

A CATALOGUE OF METEOROLOGICAL DISASTERS.

IN THE SPRINGTIME, THERE WOULD BE THE FLOODS AND THE TORNADOS

THAT WOULD MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO GET INTO THE FIELDS

TO PLANT A CROP.

ONCE THE CROP WAS PLANTED,

YOU MIGHT GO FOR SIX, EIGHT WEEKS AT A TIME

WITH NO RAIN AT ALL.

AND THEN, IT WAS BAD ENOUGH THAT THE RAIN WAS HALF

OF WHAT THE HOMESTEADER MIGHT HAVE EXPECTED IN HIS HOMELAND --

HERE, IT WOULD FALL ALL IN ONE DAY

AND FLOOD OUT THAT WHICH HAD MANAGED TO SURVIVE

THROUGH THE DROUGHT.

THERE WERE THE GRASSHOPPER STORMS AND THE WIND STORMS.

HAIL STORMS WOULD POUND A CROP INTO THE GROUND,

IN SOME CASES, FREEZING A CROP IN JULY,

WHEN YOU THOUGHT THERE WAS NO CHANCE

OF ANYTHING HAPPENING LIKE THAT AT ALL.

IN THE FALL, AT HARVEST TIME, FIRE COULD TAKE IT

AS THE FIRES SWEPT ACROSS THE GRASSLANDS.

THROUGH THE WINTER, IT WOULD BE A MATTER OF SURVIVING THE COLD.

AND THEN IN SPRING, YOU STARTED THE WHOLE MESS ALL OVER AGAIN.

WE LOOK AT THESE PEOPLE SITTING IN FRONT OF THEIR SOD HOUSES,

AND WE THINK "WHAT SQUALOR, LIVING IN A DIRT HOUSE."

WE SEE WOMEN IN MAYBE AN ELEGANT DRESS,

BUT WITHOUT SHOES ON

AND WE THINK, "THESE PEOPLE WERE POOR."

BUT WHAT I SEE IS PRIDE.

WHAT THEY'RE REALLY SAYING IS, "LOOK HOW RICH WE ARE.

"WE'RE STINKING RICH.

"OUR MUSKMELONS ARETHISBIG.

"WE HAVETWOHORSES.

WE HAVE A COW, AND THERE SHE IS, PEGGED RIGHT BACK THERE."

THEY'RE SHOWING US THAT THEY MADE IT.

THESE ARE NOT PEOPLE WHO ARE EMBARRASSED BY THEIR SITUATION.

THEY ARE DRENCHED IN PRIDE.

♪ AH, NEBRASKA LAND ♪

♪ SWEET NEBRASKA LAND ♪

♪ UPON THY BURNING SOIL I STAND ♪

♪ AND I LOOK AWAY ACROSS THE PLAINS ♪

♪ AND I WONDER WHY IT NEVER RAINS ♪

WHAT'S REMARKABLE TO ME IS THAT THEY WERE SINGING.

AND THAT THEY WERE LAUGHING WHILE THEY WERE SINGING.

"BUT WE'VE REACHED THE LAND OF DESERT SWEET,

"WHERE NOTHING GROWS FOR MAN TO EAT.

"THE WIND, IT BLOWS WITH FEVERISH HEAT

ACROSS THESE PLAINS, SO HARD TO BEAT."

BUT THAT'S NOT A SAD SONG.

IT SOUNDS LIKE THE BLUES WHEN I SAY IT,

BUT IT WAS A SONG OF LAUGHTER AND REJOICING,

'CAUSE THEY WERE LAUGHING AT THEMSELVES

IN THIS CRAZY SITUATION THEY WERE IN.

"WE DO NOT LIVE, WE ONLY STAY,

'CAUSE WE'RE TOO POOR TO MOVE AWAY."

♪ WE HAVE NO WHEAT WE HAVE NO OATS ♪

♪ WE HAVE NO CORN TO FEED OUR SHOATS ♪

♪ OUR CHICKENS ARE SO VERY POOR ♪

♪ THEY BEG FOR CRUMBS OUTSIDE OUR DOOR ♪

♪ IN NEBRASKA LAND ♪

♪ SWEET NEBRASKA LAND ♪

♪ UPON THY BURNING SOIL I STAND ♪

♪ AND I LOOK AWAY ACROSS THE PLAINS ♪♪

♪ AND I WONDER WHY IT NEVER RAINS ♪

[ HORN PLAYS SOFTLY ]

Man: THE NOBLEST PART OF THE WEST

IS THE FACT THAT IT GAVE HOPE TO PEOPLE

IN WAYS THAT WE HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO HAVE BEFORE.

IT WAS A FORCE IN THE SHAPING OF THE NATIONAL CHARACTER,

AND AN IMPORTANT ONE.

AND I THINK WHEN AND IF WE EVER LOSE THAT SENSE OF HOPE

THAT THE WEST HOLDS FOR US,

WE WILL HAVE LOST BY JUST THAT MUCH

OUR SENSE OF OURSELVES AS AMERICANS.

BUT, WHAT WE DID WHEN WE CROSSED THE MISSISSIPPI

AND ENTERED THIS LAND AND TOOK IT AS OUR OWN

WAS TO TURN OUR BACKS ON OUR OWN BEST HISTORY.

THERE IS VERY LITTLE THAT IS PRESUMABLY DEAR

TO THE AMERICAN PSYCHE IN TERMS OF THE CONSTITUTION,

IN TERMS OF CIVIL RIGHTS, IN TERMS OF OUR HIGHEST IDEALS,

THAT WAS NOT AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER

SYSTEMATICALLY VIOLATED DURING THE HISTORY OF THE WEST --

AND SOMETIMES IN WAYS THAT HAD NEVER BEEN MATCHED BEFORE,

AT AN INTENSITY, AT A LEVEL OF VIOLENCE,

AT A LEVEL OF THOUGHTLESSNESS.

THE FARTHER MY PEOPLE KEEP AWAY FROM THE WHITES,

THE BETTER I SHALL BE SATISFIED.

THE WHITE PEOPLE ARE WICKED.

I WANT YOU TO TEACH MY PEOPLE TO READ AND WRITE,

BUT THEY MUST NOT BECOME WHITE PEOPLE IN THEIR WAYS.

IT IS TOO BAD A LIFE.

I COULD NOT LET THEM DO IT.

I WOULD RATHER DIE AN INDIAN THAN LIVE A WHITE MAN --

SITTING BULL.

[ NATIVE AMERICANS CHANTING ]

Narrator: BY THE SPRING OF 1881,

THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS

HAD ALL BUT LOST THEIR STRUGGLE TO REMAIN FREE.

ONLY SITTING BULL AND FEWER THAN 200 OF HIS FOLLOWERS,

MANY OF THEM MEMBERS OF HIS OWN FAMILY,

REMAINED DEFIANT IN CANADA.

BUT ON JULY 19, 1881, HE LED A HANDFUL OF HIS HUNGRY PEOPLE

SOUTH ACROSS THE BORDER AND GAVE UP.

Sitting Bull: I SURRENDER THIS RIFLE TO YOU

THROUGH MY YOUNG SON,

WHOM I NOW DESIRE TO TEACH IN THIS MANNER

THAT HE HAS BECOME A FRIEND OF THE AMERICANS.

I WISH HIM TO LEARN THE HABITS OF THE WHITES,

AND TO BE EDUCATED AS THEIR SONS ARE EDUCATED.

THIS BOY HAS GIVEN MY RIFLE TO YOU,

AND HE NOW WANTS TO KNOW HOW HE IS GOING TO MAKE A LIVING.

Narrator: SITTING BULL STILL WANTED THE RIGHT

TO CROSS BACK AND FORTH INTO CANADA AT WILL,

TO LIVE ON THE LITTLE MISSOURI NEAR THE BLACK HILLS,

AND TO HUNT WHEREVER HE WISHED.

THE ARMY GRANTED NONE OF SITTING BULL'S REQUESTS.

THEY EVENTUALLY ORDERED HIM

TO GO TO THE STANDING ROCK RESERVATION,

HUNDREDS OF MILES TO THE EAST IN NORTH DAKOTA,

AND LIVE THERE AS HIS PEOPLE LIVED.

AT STANDING ROCK, HE WAS REUNITED WITH HIS DAUGHTER,

AND WEPT TO SEE AGAIN THOSE WHO HAD BEEN WITH HIM

AT THE LITTLE BIG HORN.

Man: THE LIFESTYLE OF THE LAKOTA PEOPLE --

THAT CHANGED SO MUCH.

HERE YOU HAD THIS FREE-ROAMING PEOPLE

THAT WERE DEPENDENT UPON THE BUFFALO FOR A WAY OF LIFE,

AND ALL A SUDDEN NOW THEY'RE CONFINED IN THESE SMALL AREAS,

THEY'RE LIVING OFF OF RATIONS, AND PEOPLE ARE STARVING.

IT'S ALMOST LIKE BEING IN A PRISON CELL.

EVEN THOUGH RESERVATIONS WERE A PRETTY GOOD SIZE,

THE IDEA OF COMPACTING PEOPLE INTO THAT AREA AND SAYING,

"YOU CAN'T MOVE OUTSIDE OF THIS AREA,

"YOU CAN'T TRAVEL OUTSIDE OF THIS AREA,

AND IF YOU DO YOU NEED A PASS" --

THE WHOLE IDEA OF CONFINING LAKOTA PEOPLE

WAS SO DEVASTATING TO THEM.

IT WAS LIKE BEING CONFINED TO...A TINY ISLAND

WITH NO WAY TO NAVIGATE

AMONG THIS ENORMOUS SEA OF WHITE STRANGERS.

Narrator: EVERY TWO WEEKS,

A FEW SCRAWNY STEERS WERE BROUGHT TO THE RESERVATION

WHERE MEN, WHO ONLY A FEW YEARS EARLIER HAD HUNTED BUFFALO

ON THE OPEN PLAINS,

NOW SHOT CATTLE FOR THEIR FOOD.

[ GUNSHOT ]

[ NATIVE AMERICANS CHANTING ]

ANY INDIAN WHO SHALL ENGAGE IN THE SUN DANCE,

SCALP DANCE, OR WAR DANCE

SHALL BE DEEMED GUILTY OF AN OFFENSE,

AND UPON CONVICTION THEREOF SHALL BE PUNISHED

BY WITHHOLDING OF HIS RATIONS, NOT EXCEEDING 10 DAYS --

BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS.

Narrator: LIKE INDIANS ON ALL THE OTHER RESERVATIONS,

THE LAKOTAS WERE ORDERED

TO GIVE UP THEIR LANGUAGE AND SPEAK ENGLISH,

ABANDON THEIR FAITH,

PUT BEHIND THEM ALLTHEIR RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS.

LAKOTA MEN WERE RECRUITED TO SERVE AS POLICE,

EMPOWERED TO HELP KEEP THE PEACE

AND TO ENFORCE THE NEW RULES.

Woman: WELL, THE IDEA WAS, IF WE COULDN'T PRAY,

IF WE COULDN'T BEHAVE THE WAY WE DO --

HAVE OUR SOCIAL CUSTOMS --

AND WE COULDN'T SPEAK,

WE'D VERY QUICKLY BECOME WHITE PEOPLE,

AND WE WOULD NO LONGER BE A MILITARY PROBLEM.

SO THE IDEA WAS "CORRUPT THEM FROM THE INSIDE."

YOU KNOW, "MAKE THEM GIVE UP WHO THEY ARE."

"IF THEY DON'T TALK THEIR LANGUAGE,

THEY WON'T PRACTICE THEIR CULTURE AND RELIGION."

Man: WHAT AMERICANS WERE TRYING TO DO INITIALLY

WAS TO MOVE INDIANS OUT OF THE WAY.

BUT AT THE SAME TIME,

THEY'VE PROMISED INDIANS A PERMANENT EXISTENCE.

RESERVATIONS WERE GOING TO BE A PLACE

IN WHICH INDIAN PEOPLES WERE GOING TO BE ALLOWED

TO SLOWLY ADJUST TO THE LARGER WHITE SOCIETY AROUND THEM.

Narrator: THE LAKOTAS LIVED IN LOG CABINS NOW,

AS WELL AS TEPEES,

AND THEY WERE EXPECTED TO FARM.

EVEN SITTING BULL FOUND HIMSELF AT WORK, HOE IN HAND.

IN AUGUST OF 1883, A DELEGATION OF UNITED STATES SENATORS

VISITED STANDING ROCK WITH A PLAN FOR OPENING

PART OF THE RESERVATION TO WHITE SETTLEMENT.

SITTING BULL PROTESTED BITTERLY.

Sitting Bull: DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?

I WANT TO TELL YOU THAT IF THE GREAT SPIRIT

HAS CHOSEN ANYONE TO BE THE CHIEF OF THIS COUNTRY,

IT IS MYSELF.

Man:YOU WERE NOT APPOINTED BY THE GREAT SPIRIT.

APPOINTMENTS ARE NOT MADE THAT WAY.

YOU HAVE NO FOLLOWING, NO POWER, NO CONTROL,

AND NO RIGHT TO ANY CONTROL.

IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE GOVERNMENT,

YOU WOULD BE FREEZING AND STARVING TODAY

IN THE MOUNTAINS.

Narrator: JUST ACROSS THE GRAND RIVER FROM HIS CABIN,

SITTING BULL COULD SEE THE SPOT

WHERE HE HAD BEEN BORN INTO AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT WORLD.

TO FILL THE EMPTY HOURS, HE COMPOSED HIS OWN SONG.

"A WARRIOR I HAVE BEEN," HE SANG.

"NOW IT IS ALL OVER.

A HARD TIME I HAVE."

UNLEARNED AS YOU MAY THINK US TO BE,

WE ARE NOT WHOLLY IGNORANT OF YOUR HISTORY.

WE CHINESE ARE TAUGHT TO BELIEVE THAT YOUR GOVERNMENT

IS FOUNDED AND CONDUCTED UPON PRINCIPLES OF PURE JUSTICE,

AND THAT ALL OF EVERY RACE AND CREED

ARE HERE SURELY PROTECTED

IN PERSON, LIBERTY, AND PROPERTY--

CHUNG SUN.

Narrator: IN OCTOBER OF 1871,

AN EAGER AND AMBITIOUS YOUNG CHINESE MAN NAMED CHUNG SUN

ARRIVED IN THE WEST.

HE CARRIED $600 WITH HIM, AND DREAMED OF STARTING

A TEA PLANTATION IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

BUT ALMOST IMMEDIATELY,

HE FOUND HIMSELF CAUGHT UP IN A RIOT IN LOS ANGELES.

[ GLASS SHATTERS ]

IT STARTED AS A QUARREL BETWEEN TWO CHINESE MEN OVER A WOMAN,

BUT QUICKLY TURNED INTO AN ARMED STRUGGLE

BETWEEN THE SMALL CHINESE COMMUNITY

AND THE REST OF THE CITY.

BEFORE IT WAS OVER, AT LEAST 23 CHINESE IMMIGRANTS

HAD BEEN HANGED, OR STABBED, OR SHOT TO DEATH.

CHUNG SUN WAS BEATEN AND ROBBED OF HIS SAVINGS.

THERE WERE MORE THAN 300,000 CHINESE IN THE COUNTRY

BY THE TIME CHUNG SUN ARRIVED,

HELPING TO BUILD THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD,

RUNNING LAUNDRIES AND RESTAURANTS,

PLANTING VINEYARDS,

AND OPERATING FISHING FLEETS UP AND DOWN THE PACIFIC COAST.

BUT WHEN DEPRESSION STRUCK,

WHITE WORKERS CAME TO BLAME THE CHINESE FOR THEIR TROUBLES.

WE INTEND TO TRY AND VOTE THE CHINAMAN OUT,

TO FRIGHTEN HIM OUT,

AND IF THIS WON'T DO, TO KILL HIM OUT.

AND WHEN THE BLOW COMES,

WE WON'T LEAVE A FRAGMENT FOR THE THIEVES TO PICK UP.

THE HEATHEN SLAVES MUST LEAVE THIS COAST,

IF IT COSTS 10,000 LIVES --

DENIS KEARNEY, THE WORKINGMEN'S PARTY.

Narrator: ANTI-CHINESE VIOLENCE BROKE OUT ALL ACROSS THE WEST.

IN ROCK SPRINGS, WYOMING, WHITES MURDERED 28 CHINESE.

IN TACOMA, STATE MILITIA MEN

HAD TO BE CALLED IN TO RESTORE ORDER.

THE CHINESE IN SEATTLE WERE ROUNDED UP,

PUSHED ONTO BOATS, AND FORCED OUT TO SEA.

THE LOS ANGELES RIOT HAD LEFT CHUNG SUN PENNILESS.

BUT HE HADN'T GIVEN UP.

HE MADE HIS WAY NORTH TO THE LITTLE TOWN OF WATSONVILLE,

WHERE HE MANAGED TO FIND A JOB DIGGING DITCHES,

AND LAYING A GAS LINE FOR $1.50 A DAY.

Chung Sun:BEING A MAN OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE,

I'M CAPABLE OF OTHER WORK THAN DIGGING IN THE STREETS.

BUT MY PHILOSOPHY TEACHES ME

ANY USEFUL WORK IS MORE HONORABLE THAN IDLENESS.

I SHALL THEREFORE, WITH PATIENCE,

CONTINUE TO DIG WITH AN ABIDING HOPE FOR SOMETHING BETTER.

Narrator: BUT WHEN THE DITCH WAS FINISHED,

CHUNG SUN COULD NOT FIND ANOTHER JOB.

NO ONE WOULD HIRE HIM.

A NEW CALIFORNIA LAW MADE HIRING A CHINESE WORKER ILLEGAL,

PUNISHABLE BY FINES AND JAIL TERMS.

THEN, IN 1882, WESTERN POLITICIANS AND LABOR UNIONS

MANAGED TO PERSUADE CONGRESS TO PASS THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT.

Man: FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES,

THE GOVERNMENT DECIDED TO EXCLUDE A GROUP OF IMMIGRANTS

ON THE BASIS OF RACE.

AND IT SET A PRECEDENT NOW, BECAUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME

YOU HAVE THIS NEW THINKING INTRODUCED.

WELL, WE CANNOT ONLY DETERMINE WHO COULD BECOME CITIZENS

IN THIS COUNTRY,

BUT WE COULD DETERMINE WHO COULDCOMETO THIS COUNTRY.

Narrator: THE YEAR BEFORE THE EXCLUSION ACT PASSED,

NEARLY 40,000 CHINESE ENTERED THE UNITED STATES.

THE NEXT YEAR, JUST 23 WERE ALLOWED IN.

BUT CHUNG SUN HAD HAD ENOUGH OF AMERICA.

HE SET SAIL FOR HOME.

Chung Sun: I HOPE YOU WILL PARDON

MY EXPRESSING A PAINFUL DISAPPOINTMENT.

THE ILL-TREATMENT OF MY OWN COUNTRYMEN

MAY PERHAPS BE EXCUSED ON THE GROUNDS OF RACE,

COLOR, LANGUAGE, AND RELIGION,

BUT SUCH PREJUDICE CAN ONLY PREVAIL AMONG THE IGNORANT.

IN CIVILITY AND POLITE MANNERS, AMERICANS ARE WHOLLY WANTING,

AND ARE VERY PROPERLY STYLED BARBARIANS.

[ TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS ]

Narrator: AT 2:00 IN THE MORNING,

ON SEPTEMBER 8, 1883,

A 24-YEAR-OLD NEW YORK ASSEMBLYMAN

STEPPED DOWN FROM THE TRAIN AT THE LITTLE MISSOURI RIVER

IN THE HEART OF DAKOTA TERRITORY.

HE HAD ALREADY EARNED A REPUTATION FOR HIMSELF BACK EAST

AS A NOISY BUT ENERGETIC REFORMER.

NOW, HE HAD COME WEST TO BUILD HIMSELF UP

AFTER A BOUT OF CHOLERA,

AND HE WAS DETERMINED TO SHOOT A BUFFALO

BEFORE THE SPECIES DISAPPEARED.

HIS NAME WAS THEODORE ROOSEVELT,

AND HE SEEMED THE QUINTESSENTIAL DUDE --

SHRILL, NEAR-SIGHTED, HARVARD-EDUCATED,

WHEEZING WITH ASTHMA,

AND INSISTENT UPON BEING CALLED "MR. ROOSEVELT."

STILL, DESPITE DAY AFTER DAY OF COLD RAIN SO FIERCE

THAT EVEN HIS SEASONED GUIDE URGED HIM TO ABANDON THE CHASE,

HE FOUND AND SHOT HIS BUFFALO.

ROOSEVELT FELL IN LOVE WITH THE WEST,

AND WITH THE PROSPECT OF QUICK RICHES IT SEEMED TO OFFER

VIRTUALLY FREE OF CHARGE.

HE WAS JUST ONE OF HUNDREDS OF EAGER ENTREPRENEURS

HOPING TO CASH IN ON THE BEEF BOOM ON THE NORTHERN PLAINS.

EVERYTHING SEEMED TO SUGGEST IT WAS A SURE THING.

Man:A GOOD-SIZED STEER,

WHEN IT IS FIT FOR THE BUTCHER MARKET,

WILL BRING FROM $45 TO $60.

THE SAME ANIMAL AT ITS BIRTH WAS WORTH BUT $5.

HE HAS RUN ON THE PLAINS AND CROPPED THE GRASS

FROM THE PUBLIC DOMAIN FOR FOUR OR FIVE YEARS,

AND NOW WITH SCARCELY ANY EXPENSE TO ITS OWNER,

IS WORTH $40 MORE

THAN WHEN HE STARTED ON HIS PILGRIMAGE.

Narrator: ALL ONE NEEDED TO DO WAS BUY A HERD

AND TURN IT LOOSE ON GRASSLANDS THAT SEEMED AS LIMITLESS

AS THE PROFITS THEY PROMISED.

"COTTON WAS ONCE CROWNED KING,"

WROTE A WESTERN NEWSPAPER EDITOR,

"BUT GRASS IS, NOW."

FORTUNE-SEEKERS FROM ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND EUROPE

INVESTED AFTER READING NEWSPAPER STORIES

THAT PROCLAIMED ROUTINE PROFITS OF 40 CENTS ON THE DOLLAR.

MARSHALL FIELD, THE CHICAGO DRY GOODS KING, BOUGHT A HERD.

SO DID WILLIAM K. VANDERBILT, THE RAILROAD MAGNATE,

AND JOSEPH GLIDDEN, THE MAN WHO MANUFACTURED BARBED WIRE.

RICH MEN'S SONS FROM THE EAST

WERE NOTHING NEW AS FAR I WAS CONCERNED.

THE RANGE IN THE '80s WAS AS FULL OF THEM

AS A DOG'S HAIR OF FLEAS.

AND SOME OF THEM WERE GOOD FELLOWS,

AND SOME WERE DAMN FOOLS --

TEDDY "BLUE" ABBOTT.

Narrator: BUT FOR THEODORE ROOSEVELT,

THE WEST WAS MUCH MORE THAN A CHANCE TO GET RICH.

IT WAS ALSO A CHANCE TO ESCAPE THE SORROWS OF HIS PRIVATE LIFE.

IN 1884, WHEN HIS MOTHER AND WIFE DIED

WITHIN HOURS OF ONE ANOTHER,

HE DEALT WITH HIS GRIEF

IN LONG, SOLITARY RIDES ACROSS THE BADLANDS.

Roosevelt:NOWHERE ELSE DOES ONE FEEL SO FAR OFF FROM MANKIND.

THE PLAINS STRETCH OUT

IN DEPTHLESS AND MEASURELESS EXPANSE,

AND AS HE JOURNEYS OVER THEM,

THEY WILL FOR MANY MILES

BE LACKING IN ALL SIGNS OF LIFE.

BLACK CARE RARELY SITS BEHIND A RIDER

WHOSE PACE IS FAST ENOUGH.

Narrator: OVER THE COURSE OF THREE SUMMERS

ON HIS DAKOTA RANCHES, ROOSEVELT ROUNDED UP CATTLE,

HUNTED DOWN RUSTLERS, AND REVELED IN THE RUGGED LANDSCAPE

AND EQUALLY RUGGED LIFE.

Roosevelt:LIKE ALL AMERICANS, I LIKE BIG THINGS --

BIG PRAIRIES, BIG FORESTS AND MOUNTAINS,

BIG WHEAT FIELDS, RAILROADS, AND HERDS OF CATTLE, TOO.

I AM MYSELF AT HEART AS MUCH A WESTERNER AS AN EASTERNER.

Narrator: IN THE WEST, ROOSEVELT HAD TRANSFORMED HIMSELF.

"HERE," HE SAID LATER, "THE ROMANCE OF MY LIFE BEGAN."

♪No tiene dicha luna ♪

♪si no estás tú ♪

Man:IT WAS THE CUSTOM OF THE TOWN OF LOS ANGELES,

AND ALL OF THE FAMILIES OF THE EARLY SETTLERS,

FOR THE OLDEST MEMBER OF THE FAMILY

TO RISE EVERY MORNING

AT THE RISING OF THE MORNING STAR,

AND AT ONCE TO STRIKE UP A HYMN.

FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE, STREET TO STREET,

THE SINGING SPREAD

AND THE VOLUME OF MUSICAL SOUND SWELLED,

UNTIL IT WAS AS IF THE WHOLE TOWN SANG.

Narrator: TO THE CASUAL VISITOR, LOS ANGELES IN THE 1870s

SEEMED MUCH AS IT HAD BEEN WHEN THE UNITED STATES

HAD TAKEN CALIFORNIA FROM MEXICO IN 1846 --

AN OLD, HISPANIC FARMING TOWN

WITH A POPULATION OF FEWER THAN 10,000 PEOPLE.

BUT LIFE FOR ITS NATIVE INHABITANTS

HAD ALREADY BEGUN TO CHANGE.

BULLFIGHTS AND BEAR BAITING HAD BEEN OUTLAWED.

BASEBALL HAD BECOME THE CITY'S MOST POPULAR SPORT.

POLITICAL POWER HAD LONG SINCE PASSED

FROM THE OLD CALIFORNIO FAMILIES INTO THE HANDS OF ANGLOS.

THEN, THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD AND ITS COMPETITOR,

THE ATCHISON, TOPEKA, AND SANTA FE,

BUILT THE FIRST RAILROAD LINES INTO LOS ANGELES

AND IMMEDIATELY BEGAN A FARE WAR.

FOR A TIME, PASSENGERS COULD MAKE IT

ALL THE WAY TO LOS ANGELES FROM ST. LOUIS

FOR AS LITTLE AS $1.

Man:THE PURITY OF THE AIR OF LOS ANGELES IS REMARKABLE.

VEGETATION DRIES UP BEFORE IT DIES

AND HARDLY EVER SEEMS TO DECAY.

MEAT, SUSPENDED IN THE SUN, DRIES UP, BUT NEVER ROTS.

THE AIR, WHEN INHALED, GIVES TO THE INDIVIDUAL

A STIMULUS AND VITAL FORCE

WHICH ONLY AN ATMOSPHERE SO PURE CAN EVER COMMUNICATE.

Narrator: NOW, EASTERNERS AND MIDWESTERNERS

DRAWN BY REPORTS OF WARM SUNSHINE AND CHEAP LAND

BEGAN ARRIVING IN LARGER AND LARGER NUMBERS --

120,000 IN 1887 ALONE.

SPECULATORS POURED IN -- SO MANY THE HOTELS RAN OUT OF BEDS,

AND RENTED THEM BATHTUBS TO SLEEP IN.

IN JUST 2 1/2 YEARS,

60 NEW TOWNS WERE FOUNDED IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY.

BY 1890, THE ANGLO POPULATION OF LOS ANGELES

WAS FIVE TIMES LARGER THAN IT HAD BEEN JUST 10 YEARS BEFORE,

AND THE TOWN'S MEXICAN-AMERICAN HEART,

NOW KNOWN AS THEBARRIO, HAD BEEN SURROUNDED.

Man: THE CHANGE WAS SO DRASTIC,

WE HAD TO TURN INWARD

AND FIND THE STRENGTH WITHIN OUR FAMILIES --

A CIRCLE OF SAFETY TO PRESERVE OUR TRADITIONAL WAYS.

AND ONE WAY TO DO THAT IS TO FALL BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY,

INTO THE FAMILY, INTO THEBARRIO,

AND TRY TO HANG ON TO WHAT YOU HAVE OF YOUR HISTORY.

THERE'S MUSIC, PEOPLE WALK IN THE STREETS,

PEOPLE KNOW EACH OTHER --

YOU BELONG IN ABARRIO,

AND YOU'RE PROUD OF YOURBARRIO.

WHAT'S OUTSIDE IS AN ALIEN LAND,

WHERE THE COLOR OF YOUR SKIN MAKES A DIFFERENCE,

WHERE THE WAY YOU SPEAK MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

IN THEBARRIO, THAT DOESN'T MATTER, YOU KNOW?

YOU'RE ACCEPTED.

AND OUT THERE IS ANOTHER WORLD.

I TELL YOU THAT MORMONISM

IS ONE GREAT SURGE OF LICENTIOUSNESS.

IT IS THE BROTHEL OF THE NATION.

IT IS HELL ENTHRONED.

THIS MISERABLE CORPSE OF MORMONISM

HAS BEEN ROTTING IN THE SUN,

AND ROTTING, AND ROTTING FOR 40 YEARS,

AND THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

HAS NOT HAD THE COURAGE TO BURY IT --

REVEREND T. DeWITT TALMAGE.

Narrator: THE SAME YEAR

THAT THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT WAS PASSED,

CONGRESS ALSO TOOK ACTION AGAINST THE MORMONS OF UTAH.

FOR NEARLY HALF A CENTURY, THEY HAD STRUGGLED

TO CARVE OUT THEIR OWN UNIQUE SOCIETY IN THE WEST,

RESISTING FEDERAL CONTROL AT EVERY TURN.

THE CHURCH OWNED THE TERRITORY'S BIGGEST BUSINESSES,

HAD ITS OWN POLITICAL PARTY,

AND OFTEN CARRIED OUT ITS OWN LAWS AND PUNISHMENTS

IN DEFIANCE OF FEDERAL JUDGES.

BUT CONGRESS' MAIN TARGET WAS THE MORMON PRACTICE

OF PLURAL MARRIAGE.

NOW, POLYGAMY WAS DECLARED A FEDERAL CRIME.

POLYGAMISTS WERE BARRED FROM VOTING, HOLDING OFFICE,

AND SERVING ON JURIES.

AND THOSE FOUND GUILTY OF THE PRACTICE

COULD BE SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS IN PRISON.

MANY MORMON FAMILIES FLED TO CANADA OR TO MEXICO.

OTHERS STAYED AT HOME AND TOOK THEIR CHANCES.

Udall: THE THING TO KEEP IN MIND

IS THAT POLYGAMY WAS A SACRED CALLING,

THAT THIS WAS A COMMANDMENT OF GOD,

THAT THEY WERE FULFILLING A VERY IMPORTANT CHURCH PRINCIPLE

IN DOING THIS, AND THAT WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE LAW.

NOT THAT THEY HAD CONTEMPT FOR THE LAW,

BUT THEY WOULD DO IT BECAUSE THEY BELIEVED IT WAS RIGHT.

Narrator: TWO MONTHS AFTER POLYGAMY BECAME A FELONY,

DAVID KING UDALL, A PROMINENT, 30-YEAR-OLD MORMON

IN CHARGE OF A NEW COLONY IN ARIZONA,

MARRIED HIS SECOND WIFE, IDA HUNT.

TODAY I HAVE MADE

THE MOST SOLEMN VOWS AND OBLIGATIONS OF MY LIFE.

MARRIAGE, UNDER ORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES,

IS A GRAVE AND IMPORTANT STEP,

BUT ENTERING INTO PLURAL MARRIAGE

IN THESE PERILOUS TIMES IS DOUBLY SO --

IDA HUNT UDALL.

THE PERSECUTIONS BECAME UNBEARABLE.

A NEWSPAPER WAS PUBLISHED, WHOSE SOLE MISSION

WAS TO MISREPRESENT AND VILIFY OUR PEOPLE.

EVERY ISSUE CONTAINED LOW, VULGAR ARTICLES.

MY NAME FREQUENTLY CAME OUT IN GLOWING COLORS,

CALLING ME A PROSTITUTE, MISTRESS, ET CETERA.

Narrator: ON JULY 10, 1884,

TWO MONTHS AFTER LEARNING SHE WAS PREGNANT,

IDA WAS TOLD THAT FEDERAL MARSHALS WERE IN ARIZONA

ARRESTING MEN AND SERVING THEIR PLURAL WIVES WITH SUBPOENAS.

UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS, SHE SLIPPED OUT OF TOWN

AND ENTERED WHAT THE MORMONS CALLED "THE UNDERGROUND,"

SHUTTLING FROM ONE HIDING PLACE TO ANOTHER,

OFTEN USING ASSUMED NAMES

WHILE SHE WAS HARBORED BY CHURCH MEMBERS.

AFTER BEING SEPARATED FROM HER FAMILY

FOR MORE THAN HALF A YEAR,

SHE LEARNED THROUGH A NEWSPAPER THAT HER MOTHER HAD DIED.

THAT SAME DAY, SHE GAVE BIRTH TO A DAUGHTER.

Ida:DEAR DAVID, TODAY I HAVE HAD A LETTER

SAYING THAT THE APOSTLES WILL NOT CONSENT

FOR ME TO RETURN TO ARIZONA,

AND SAY THAT I MUST LOSE MYSELF AGAIN IF POSSIBLE.

OH, DADE, I NEVER MISSED YOU AS I DO TONIGHT.

THE WORLD SEEMS SO LONELY,

SO LOVELESS WITHOUT YOU.

HOW LONG WILL THE LORD REQUIRE HIS POOR, WEAK CHILDREN

TO BE THUS TRIED?

David:MY DEAR GIRL, BETTER THAT I HAD SUFFERED IMPRISONMENT

THAN TO HAVE YOU GOING BY ANOTHER NAME

AND RUNNING HERE AND THERE FOR FEAR OF BEING KNOWN.

IT TOUCHES THE MANLY FEELINGS OF ANY MAN TO SUCH A DEGREE

THAT IT IS ALMOST UNBEARABLE.

GOD BLESS YOU IN YOUR WANDERING.

Ida:FEBRUARY 26, 1886.

AS I WRITE, PAULINE IS LAYING IN BED,

LAUGHING, TALKING, AND BITING HER TOES.

DEAR, LITTLE REFUGEE -- HOW SHE WOULD LOVE HER PAPA,

IF SHE COULD EVER HAVE THE PRIVILEGE

OF MAKING HIS ACQUAINTANCE.

BUT HOW UTTERLY SHE IS EXILED FROM HIS HEART,

FOR IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO LOVE A CHILD WHOM YOU NEVER SEE.

Narrator: THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT INTENSIFIED ITS PRESSURE

ON THE MORMONS.

MORE LEADERS WERE SENT TO JAIL.

ALL MORMONS, POLYGAMISTS OR NOT,

WERE TO BE PROHIBITED FROM VOTING.

FEDERAL MARSHALS THREATENED TO CONFISCATE CHURCH PROPERTY.

Udall: THE CHURCH WAS BEING DRIVEN TOWARDS BANKRUPTCY.

IT WAS CLEAR THEY HAD TO MAKE A CHANGE,

AND I THINK THIS WAS A VERY PRAGMATIC DECISION,

TO SAY, "POLYGAMY IS DRAGGING THE CHURCH DOWN,

AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO GIVE IT UP."

Narrator: FINALLY, THE CHURCH PRESIDENT, WILFORD WOODRUFF,

RETIRED TO HIS STUDY IN SALT LAKE CITY

AND EMERGED WITH A REVELATION.

HE ADVISED ALL MORMONS TO OBEY CONGRESS

AND REFRAIN FROM ENTERING INTO PLURAL MARRIAGES.

HE AND THE OTHER MORMON LEADERS NOW BELIEVED

THEIR BEST HOPE LAY IN STATEHOOD.

TO WIN IT, THEY DISBANDED THE CHURCH'S POLITICAL PARTY,

DIVESTED THEMSELVES OF MOST OF THE CHURCH'S BUSINESSES,

AND DREW UP A STATE CONSTITUTION

THAT FINALLY SEPARATED CHURCH FROM STATE,

AND OUTLAWED POLYGAMY.

ON JANUARY 6, 1896,

UTAH, WHICH HAD BEEN FOUNDED AS A REFUGEFROMTHE UNITED STATES,

WAS ADMITTED TO THE UNION AS THE 45th STATE.

IDA HUNT UDALL SPENT 2 1/2 YEARS IN EXILE.

DAVID, WHO REFUSED TO GIVE UP EITHER OF HIS WIVES,

HAD GONE TO JAIL FOR A TIME.

BUT HIS AND IDA'S COMMITMENT TO THEIR BELIEFS AND EACH OTHER

NEVER WAVERED.

THEY WERE FINALLY REUNITED, AND HAD FIVE MORE CHILDREN TOGETHER,

THREE OF THEM AFTER THE MORMON CHURCH RENOUNCED POLYGAMY.

Ida:THE CHURCH COULD NOT UNDO WHAT HAD BEEN DONE

IN PRACTICING PLURAL MARRIAGE.

THE LORD TOOK CARE OF US, AND WILL CONTINUE TO CARE FOR US.

THOSE WHO LIVE THAT ORDER OF MARRIAGE RIGHTEOUSLY

WILL HAVE GLORY ADDED TO THEIR POSTERITY.

Man: THERE'S A SENSE

IN THE WHOLE LATE 19th-CENTURY UNITED STATES

THAT THE COUNTRY CAN BE MADE INTO

A SINGLE, UNIFIED, COHERENT PLACE.

AND AT THE SAME TIME,

THERE'S A SENSE THAT YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE IT INTO --

IN THIS 19th-CENTURY PHRASE -- A WHITE MAN'S COUNTRY.

AND THE WEST IS A VERY MIXED PLACE.

IT'S FULL OF CHINESE, IT'S FULL OF MORMONS,

IT'S FULL OF MEXICANS WHO HAVE BECOME MEXICAN-AMERICANS,

IT'S FULL OF INDIAN PEOPLES.

AND THE QUESTION BECOMES, "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THEM?"

LET US FORGET ONCE AND FOREVER THE WORD "INDIAN"

AND ALL THAT IT HAS SIGNIFIED IN THE PAST,

AND REMEMBER ONLY THAT WE ARE DEALING WITH

SO MANY CHILDREN OF A COMMON FATHER --

CHARLES C. PAINTER.

Narrator: IN THE AUTUMN OF 1883,

A GROUP OF WHITE PEOPLE GATHERED AT THE MOHONK MOUNTAIN HOUSE

IN UPSTATE NEW YORK.

THEY WERE CLERGYMEN, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, SOCIAL WORKERS,

AND ALTHOUGH SOME OF THEM

HAD NEVER BEEN TO THE WEST, OR ACTUALLY MET AN INDIAN,

THEY WERE CONVINCED THEY KNEW HOW TO BRING NATIVE AMERICANS

INTO THE MAINSTREAM OF AMERICAN LIFE.

THE DECISIONS THEY WOULD MAKE WOULD CHANGE THE LIVES

OF ALL THE INDIAN PEOPLES OF THE WEST, FOREVER.

White: THE NAME REFORMERS HAD FOR THEMSELVES

WAS "FRIENDS OF THE INDIANS."

IT'S A VERY REVEALING NAME.

WHAT THEY SAW THEMSELVES AS DOING

WAS SHARING THE BLESSINGS OF CHRISTIANITY

AND THE BLESSINGS OF MODERN CIVILIZATION

WITH PEOPLE WHO DID NOT YET HAVE IT.

THEY WERE GOING TO PROTECT THEIR RIGHTS.

THEY WERE GOING TO RAISE THEM UP

TO THE LEVEL OF OTHERS IN AMERICAN SOCIETY.

AND THEY WERE GOING TO TRY TO ABSORB THEM

INTO WHAT THEY SAW AS THE BEST QUALITIES

OF AMERICAN PROTESTANT CIVILIZATION.

AND, AS THEY SAW IT, WHO COULD ARGUE WITH THAT?

Narrator: THE "FRIENDS OF THE INDIAN"

WANTED TO TRANSFORM THE YOUNGEST GENERATION

AS RAPIDLY AS POSSIBLE.

INDIAN CHILDREN AS YOUNG AS FIVE

WERE TO BE TAKEN FROM THEIR FAMILIES

AND SENT HALFWAY ACROSS THE CONTINENT

TO THE UNITED STATES INDIAN TRAINING AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL

AT CARLISLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

Woman: IT WAS A MILITARY SCHOOL,

AND THEY WERE TRYING TO MAKE WHITE PEOPLE OUT OF THEM.

THEN, WHEN THEY TOOK THE CHILDREN AWAY FROM THE MOTHERS,

THEY JUST KNEW THEY WOULD NEVER SEE THEIR CHILDREN ANY MORE.

AND THEN THEY DIDN'T THINK ABOUT SCHOOL --

THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THEY REALLY WENT TO SCHOOL

OR WERE GOING TO BE KILLED.

OUR BELONGINGS WERE TAKEN FROM US,

EVEN THE LITTLE MEDICINE BAGS OUR MOTHERS HAD GIVEN US

TO PROTECT US FROM HARM.

EVERYTHING WAS PLACED IN A HEAP AND SET AFIRE--

LONE WOLF.

Woman:ALL THE BOYS IN OUR SCHOOL WERE GIVEN ENGLISH NAMES

BECAUSE THEIR INDIAN NAMES

WERE DIFFICULT FOR THE TEACHERS TO PRONOUNCE.

BESIDES, THE ABORIGINAL NAMES WERE CONSIDERED

BY THE MISSIONARIES AS "HEATHENISH."

AND SO, IN THE PLACE OF TAE-NOO-GA-WA-ZHE

CAME "PHILIP SHERIDAN."

AND THAT OF WA-PAH-DAE, "ULYSSES S. GRANT."

Narrator: WITHIN 20 YEARS,

THERE WERE 24 OTHER OFF-RESERVATION SCHOOLS,

LIKE CARLISLE,

AND 81 BOARDING SCHOOLS AND 147 DAY SCHOOLSONTHE RESERVATIONS.

DOG CREEK, FOREST GROVE, POCATELLO,

FORT DEFIANCE, FORT CONCHO.

DESPITE THEIR GRIM REALITY, MANY INDIANS SAW THEM

AS THE BEST AVAILABLE WAY TO PREPARE THEIR CHILDREN

FOR A NEW LIFE IN THE WHITE MAN'S WORLD.

EVEN SITTING BULL MADE SURE HIS CHILDREN WERE SENT TO SCHOOL,

INCLUDING HIS SON CROW FOOT,

WHO HAD SURRENDERED HIS FATHER'S RIFLE TO THE ARMY

AT FORT BUFORD.

ALL INDIAN SCHOOLS SHARED THE SAME GOAL --

"EDUCATION," SAID ONE REFORMER,

"SHOULD SEEK THE DISINTEGRATION OF THE TRIBES.

"THEY SHOULD BE EDUCATED NOT AS INDIANS,

BUT AS AMERICANS."

EVEN IF ONE WAS SUCCESSFUL AT INDIAN SCHOOL --

LET'S SAY THAT ONE WENT OFF TO CARLISLE AND GRADUATED

AND CAME BACK.

WHAT PLACE DID THAT MAN HAVE

IN A SOCIETY THAT HAD NOT CHANGED?

THAT DIDN'T NEED TO HAVE SOMEBODY

THAT KNEW HOW TO PLAY THE FRENCH HORN OR DO THE IRISH JIG.

THEY HAD NO VALUE IN THAT SOCIETY.

I THINK ONE OF THE CONTRASTS WAS,

WHAT KIND OF SHOE DO YOU WEAR?

YOU KNOW, DO YOU WEAR A MOCCASIN

OR DO YOU WEAR THE WHITE MAN'S SHOE?

Woman: YES, THEY TOOK OUR DIALECT AWAY.

WHEN I WENT TO CONCHO --

MY LITTLE FRIENDS -- WE ALL SPOKE OUR DIALECT.

AND WE WERE TOLD NOT TO TALK IT. SPEAK ENGLISH.

SO OUR MATRON, A BIG, HUSKY WHITE LADY --

HER NAME WAS GARRETT --

WHEN SOMEBODY SAID, "MOTHER GARRETT'S COMING,"

WE ALL TRIED TO KEEP QUIET, BUT SHE HEARD ME.

MOTHER GARRETT JERKED ME BY THE COLLAR OF MY DRESS

AND DRUG ME IN THE BATHROOM.

THAT LYE SOAP WAS ABOUT THAT BIG AND ABOUT THAT HIGH.

SHE BROKE OFF A PIECE, AND SHE WASHED MY MOUTH WITH LYE SOAP.

SHE SAID, "DON'T YOU EVER SPEAK INDIAN AGAIN...

OR I'M GOING TO WASH YOUR MOUTH AGAIN."

AND MY TONGUE GOT BLISTERED FROM THAT LYE.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

[ CHANTING CONTINUES ]

THE ZUNI FAITH IS AS A DROP OF OIL IN WATER --

SURROUNDED AND TOUCHED AT EVERY POINT,

YET IN NO PLACE PENETRATED OR CHANGED INWARDLY

BY THE FLOOD OF ALIEN BELIEF THAT DESCENDED UPON IT.

THE ZUNI ADJUSTS OTHER BELIEFS AND OPINIONS TO HIS OWN,

BUT NEVER HIS OWN BELIEFS AND OPINIONS TO OTHERS.

IN RELIGIOUS CULTURE,

THE ZUNI IS ALMOST THE SAME AS ERE HIS LAND WAS DISCOVERED--

FRANK CUSHING.

Narrator: IN 1879, A FRAIL BUT EAGER 22-YEAR-OLD

NAMED FRANK HAMILTON CUSHING

ARRIVED AT THE ZUNI PUEBLO IN NEW MEXICO.

THREE AND A HALF CENTURIES EARLIER, THE ZUNIS

HAD BEEN AMONG THE FIRST INDIANS OF THE WEST TO MEET A EUROPEAN,

THE EXPLORER, CORONADO, WHO HAD STORMED THEIR VILLAGE IN 1540.

CUSHING HAD ARRIVED FOR AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT REASON.

HE HAD BEEN FASCINATED BY TALES OF INDIANS

EVER SINCE HE HAD DISCOVERED AN ARROWHEAD

NEAR HIS HOME IN CENTRAL NEW YORK AS A BOY.

NOW, HE WAS PART OF THE FIRST EXPEDITION

OF THE NEWLY FORMED U.S. BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.

SENT TO SURVEY INDIAN TRIBES AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE,

ON THE BELIEF THAT NATIVE AMERICANS

AND THEIR CUSTOMS WERE ABOUT TO DISAPPEAR.

TO THE SHOCK OF HIS EASTERN COMPANIONS,

CUSHING IMMEDIATELY MOVED IN TO ONE OF THE INDIANS' HOMES,

AND ANNOUNCED HE INTENDED TO STAY.

"THE BEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND INDIANS," HE SAID,

"WAS TO LIVE THE WAY THEY DID."

CUSHING LEARNED POTTERY MAKING,

COOKING, AND THE ZUNIS' LANGUAGE.

HE WORE ZUNI CLOTHING, GREW HIS HAIR LONG,

HAD HIS EARS PIERCED, AND ADOPTED A ZUNI NAME --

TENATSALI -- "MEDICINE FLOWER."

THE ZUNIS ACCEPTED CUSHING

INTO THEIR SACRED PRIESTHOOD OF THE BOW,

BUT ONLY AFTER HE WENT THROUGH

THE LENGTHY AND TORTUOUS INITIATION,

WHICH INCLUDED DAYS OF FASTING,

SITTING MOTIONLESS ON A HILL OF FIRE ANTS,

AND TAKING AN ENEMY'S SCALP.

CUSHING WAS NOW AN INFLUENTIAL MEMBER OF THE TRIBE.

HE TOOK PART IN THEIR COUNCILS,

AND HE JOINED A WAR PARTY AGAINST NAVAJO RAIDERS,

ENRAGING THE NAVAJOS' INDIAN AGENT.

MR. GALEN EASTMAN, NAVAJO INDIAN AGENCY,

FORT DEFIANCE, ARIZONA TERRITORY.

SIR, IT IS QUITE TRUE THAT I FIRED NOT TWICE,

BUT THREE TIMES INTO TWO DIFFERENT BANDS OF HORSES

BELONGING TO THE NAVAJO INDIANS.

IT IS POSSIBLE THAT, AS I INTENDED,

I KILLED ONE OR TWO OF THEM,

ALTHOUGH OF THIS, I CANNOT BE CERTAIN.

REST ASSURED, SIR,

THAT WHEN ALL OF OUR GRIEVANCES ARE SET RIGHT BY THE NAVAJOS,

WE SHALL BE THEN VERY READY TO SAY "AMEN"

AND TO ACT ALL THINGS ARIGHT ON OUR SIDE.

VERY RESPECTFULLY, YOUR OBEDIENT SERVANT --

F.H. CUSHING, 1st WAR CHIEF OF ZUNI,

U.S. ASSISTANT ETHNOLOGIST.

Narrator: CUSHING CONTINUED TO QUARREL

WITH MISSIONARIES AND INDIAN AGENTS

INTENT ON CHANGING THE ZUNIS.

BUT WHEN HE EXPOSED A SCHEME

BY RELATIVES OF A POWERFUL U.S. SENATOR

TO BUILD A RANCH ON ZUNI LAND,

HIS SUPERIORS ORDERED HIM BACK HOME.

HE HAD BEEN SENT TO STUDY THE ZUNIS -- NOT BECOME ONE.

IN 1884, CUSHING RETURNED TO WASHINGTON.

MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY LATER, IN 1938,

AN ARCHEOLOGIST REPORTED THAT OLDER ZUNI PEOPLE,

NOT KNOWING THAT CUSHING HAD DIED IN 1900,

STILL WONDERED WHY THEIR GOOD FRIEND MEDICINE FLOWER

HAD NEVER RETURNED.

IN 1886, THE ONLY NEW RANGE LEFT IN MONTANA

WAS NORTH OF THE MISSOURI RIVER.

THE NORTHERN PACIFIC

WAS RUNNING THROUGH CENTRAL MONTANA.

AND THE SETTLERS HAD COME IN SO THICK,

THEY WAS CROWDING THE CATTLEMEN EVERYWHERE,

CAUSING THE RANGE TO BE OVERSTOCKED--

TEDDY "BLUE" ABBOTT.

Narrator: BY THE SUMMER OF 1886,

THE ONCE BOOMING CATTLE BUSINESS WAS IN TROUBLE.

7 1/2 MILLION HUNGRY CATTLE WERE NOW COMPETING FOR GRASSES

WHICH EVERY YEAR GREW LESS PLENTIFUL FROM OVERGRAZING.

IN SOME PLACES WHERE IT HAD ONCE TAKEN

JUST FIVE ACRES OF LAND TO SUPPORT A STEER,

IT NOW TOOK MORE THAN 90.

BIG HERDS OF VORACIOUS SHEEP

WERE BEGINNING TO MOVE ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE.

AND FARMERS WERE APPEARING, TURNING GRASSLANDS INTO FIELDS,

PUTTING UP BARBED WIRE FENCES, DRIVING CATTLE FROM THEIR CROPS.

MEANWHILE, BEEF PRICES WERE DROPPING.

THE SUMMER OF 1886 WAS HOT AND DRY.

ON THE OVERGRAZED RANGES, THE CATTLE GREW THIN AND WEAK.

THEN CAME WINTER.

Man:IN NOVEMBER, WE HAD SEVERAL SNOW STORMS.

AND I SAW THE FIRST WHITE OWLS I HAVE EVER SEEN.

THE INDIANS SAID THEY WERE A BAD SIGN --

"HEAP SNOW COMING, VERY COLD."

IT GOT COLDER AND COLDER.

IT WAS HELL...WITHOUT THE HEAT.

Narrator: ON THE NORTHERN PLAINS,

IT BEGAN SNOWING ON NOVEMBER 13, 1886,

AND DID NOT STOP FOR A MONTH.

THE CATTLE STRUGGLED TO STAY ALIVE,

NOSING THROUGH THE SNOW

IN SEARCH OF WHAT LITTLE GRASS REMAINED.

JANUARY, 1887, WAS THE COLDEST MONTH

ANYONE ON THE NORTHERN PLAINS COULD RECALL.

"THE SNOW FELL SO HARD DURING ONE 72-HOUR BLIZZARD,"

A SURVIVOR WROTE,

"THAT IT SEEMED

"AS IF ALL THE WORLD'S ICE, FROM TIME'S BEGINNINGS,

"HAD COME ON A WIND

WHICH HOWLED AND SCREAMED WITH THE FURY OF DEMONS."

Man:IT WAS ALL SO SLOW,

PLUNGING AFTER THEM THROUGH THE DEEP SNOW THAT WAY.

THE HORSES' FEET WERE CUT AND BLEEDING FROM THE HEAVY CRUST,

AND THE CATTLE HAD E

WORE OFF THEIR LEGS TO THE KNEES AND THE HOCKS.

AND IT WAS SURELY HELL

TO SEE BIG 4-YEAR-OLD STEERS JUST ABLE TO STAGGER ALONG.

Narrator: THE UNSHELTERED, HELPLESS CATTLE BEGAN TO DIE.

SOME, TOO WEAK TO STAND,

WERE SIMPLY BLOWN OVER BY THE SAVAGE WIND.

OTHERS, THEIR FEET FROZEN INTO THE ICE, DIED LIKE STATUES.

WHEN THE SNOW AND ICE FINALLY BEGAN TO MELT,

CATTLEMEN UNDERSTOOD FOR THE FIRST TIME

THE MAGNITUDE OF WHAT HAD HAPPENED.

DEAD ANIMALS WERE EVERYWHERE -- HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF THEM --

SPRAWLED ACROSS THE HILLSIDES AND ALONG FENCE LINES.

HEAPED AT THE BOTTOM OF COULEES, WHERE THE SNOW HAD TRAPPED THEM,

SWOLLEN AND BOBBING IN THE RUSHING RIVERS.

Man:I SAW COUNTLESS CARCASSES OF CATTLE

GOING DOWN WITH THE ICE,

ROLLING OVER AND OVER AS THEY WENT,

SOMETIMES WITH ALL FOUR STIFFENED LEGS POINTED SKYWARD.

FOR DAYS ON END, TEARING DOWN WITH THE GRINDING ICE CAKES,

WENT DEATH'S CATTLE ROUNDUP.

"THE FIRST DAY I RODE OUT," ONE REMEMBERED,

"I NEVER SAW A LIVE ANIMAL."

CATTLEMEN WOULD REMEMBER THE WINTER OF 1886-1887

AS THE GREAT "DIE UP."

IN THE END, THE ONLY MEN WHO MADE MUCH MONEY

ON THE NORTHERN CATTLE RANGES THAT SPRING WERE SCAVENGERS,

GATHERING BONES TO SELL TO FERTILIZER COMPANIES.

LIKE THE HOMESTEADERS, WHO HAD LEARNED

THAT THEY COULD NOT CHANGE THE CLIMATE OF THE WEST,

THE RANCHERS WHO HAD RUSHED IN DURING THE BEEF BONANZA,

HAD LEARNED THEY COULD NOT IGNORE IT.

IN ITS PRESENT FORM, STOCK RAISING ON THE PLAINS

IS DOOMED AND CAN HARDLY OUTLAST THE CENTURY.

AND WE, WHO HAVE FELT THE CHARM OF THE LIFE,

AND HAVE EXALTED IN ITS ABOUNDING VIGOR

AND ITS BOLD, RESTLESS FREEDOM,

MUST ALSO FEEL REAL SORROW THAT THOSE WHO COME AFTER US

ARE NOT TO SEE, AS WE HAVE SEEN,

WHAT IS PERHAPS THE PLEASANTEST, HEALTHIEST,

AND MOST EXCITING PHASE OF AMERICAN EXISTENCE --

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

[ BANJO VERSION OF "STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER" PLAYS ]

Man:THE SHOW IS WORTH SEEING.

IT IS WORTH ANYBODY'S WHILE TO PUT HIMSELF INTO SOME TROUBLE

TO GO AND SEE IT.

A BETTER IDEA OF THE DANGERS PIONEERS CONFRONT,

OF THE RESOURCES AND SKILL THAT DIFFICULTIES BRING OUT,

OF THE WAY IN WHICH THE WILD WEST

HAS BEEN SETTLED AND CIVILIZED,

CAN BE OBTAINED FROM ONE VISIT TO THIS EXHIBITION

THAN BY READING A SCORE OF HISTORIES

AND A CARTLOAD OF DESCRIPTIONS.

Narrator: FOR 30 YEARS -- TWICE A DAY, 6 DAYS A WEEK,

FROM CHICAGO TO PHILADELPHIA, PARIS TO MUNICH --

BUFFALO BILL BROUGHT HIS GAUDY VERSION OF THE WILD WEST

TO THE WORLD.

WILLIAM F. CODY

HAD DONE NEARLY EVERYTHING A MAN COULD DO IN THE WEST.

HE'D BEEN A GOLD SEEKER, BUFFALO HUNTER, CATTLE RANCHER,

AND INDIAN FIGHTER.

BUT, MOST OF ALL, HE WAS A SUPERB PROMOTER,

OF THE WEST AND OF HIMSELF.

ON STATEN ISLAND ONE SUMMER,

A MILLION PEOPLE ATTENDED HIS SHOWS.

ANOTHER MILLION PAID TO SEE HIM THAT WINTER

AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN.

"EACH SEEN IS INSTRUCTIVE," ONE ADVERTISEMENT PROMISED,

"A YEAR'S VISIT WEST IN THREE HOURS."

[ APPLAUSE ]

IN EVERY PERFORMANCE,

A WAGON TRAIN WAS RAIDED BY INDIANS...

AND SAVED BY BUFFALO BILL.

A SETTLER'S CABIN WAS ATTACKED...

AND SAVED BY BUFFALO BILL.

THERE WERE PONY EXPRESS RIDERS, A BUFFALO HUNT,

MEXICAN VAQUEROS DISPLAYING THEIR SKILL WITH THE LASSO,

AND THE AUTHENTIC DEADWOOD STAGE COACH,

SURROUNDED BY INDIANS AND SAVED...

BY BUFFALO BILL.

BUT THE GRAND FINALE WAS A RE-ENACTMENT

OF THE BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIG HORN,

SHOWING WITH "HISTORICAL ACCURACY,"

THE HANDBILLS CLAIMED, THE SCENE OF CUSTER'S LAST STAND.

[ AUDIENCE GASPS AND GROANS ]

AND, AT THE END, THERE WAS BUFFALO BILL HIMSELF,

IN THE CENTER OF THE BATTLEFIELD,

WHILE BEHIND HIM THE WORDS "TOO LATE"

WERE PROJECTED ONTO A SCREEN.

CROWDS COULDN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT.

EVEN LIBBY CUSTER, WHO HAD BEEN WIDOWED BY THE ACTUAL EVENT,

PROCLAIMED IT,

AND FAITHFUL REPRESENTATIONIC

OF A WESTERN LIFE THAT HAS CEASED TO BE."

SHE CAME BACK TO SEE IT MANY TIMES.

"IT WAS," THE SHOWMEN BOASTED,

"A NOISY, RATTLING, GUN POWDER ENTERTAINMENT."

FOR MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD,

WILLIAM F. CODY HAD BECOME THE EMBODIMENT OF THE WEST.

White: BUFFALO BILL, I THINK, IS THE ONE TRUE GENIUS

THE 19th-CENTURY WEST REALLY PRODUCED.

BUFFALO BILL IS AN INCREDIBLE SELF-CRASH.

AND WHAT BUFFALO BILL KNEW ABOUT THE WEST IS THAT, IN FACT,

IT GAVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE YOURSELF OVER,

AND THEN ONCE YOU'VE MADE A ROLE FOR YOURSELF,

TO INHABIT IT.

THE LINES BETWEEN REALITY -- THE LIVED EXPERIENCE IN THE WEST

AND THE MYTHIC WEST THAT BUFFALO BILL PORTRAYED FOR A LIVING --

BECOME VERY, VERY BLURRED.

Narrator: IN 1885, SITTING BULL HIMSELF JOINED THE ENTOURAGE.

BILLED AS THE "SLAYER OF GENERAL CUSTER,"

HE WAS PAID $50 A WEEK AND RESERVED THE RIGHT

TO PROFIT DIRECTLY FROM THE SALE

OF AUTOGRAPHS AND PICTURES OF HIMSELF.

THE AGING CHIEF WAS REQUIRED

ONLY TO RIDE AROUND THE ARENA ONCE A SHOW, AND AFTERWARDS,

TO SIGN HIS NAME FOR THE AWE-STRUCK VISITORS

WHO CAME TO PEER AT HIM IN HIS TEPEE.

Williams: IT'S INTERESTING FOR SITTING BULL BECAUSE,

FIRST OF ALL, IT'S A CHANCE FOR HIM

TO SEE THE REST OF THE WORLD AND SEE WHAT AMERICA IS ABOUT,

AND A LOT OF INDIAN PEOPLE THAT WENT WITH HIM --

INTERPRETERS AND EVERYTHING --

AND THEY REALIZED THAT THE WORLD IS CHANGED

AND THEIR WAY OF LIFE IS CHANGED.

AND WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE RESERVATIONS

ISN'T NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF WHAT AMERICA COULD BE ABOUT.

Man: I THINK HE WAS PROBABLY, IN TURNS,

AMUSED AND HUMILIATED BY THE EXPERIENCE.

THIS WASSOMUCH UNLIKE THE REALITY

THAT HE HAD LIVED AS A YOUNG MAN.

AND, YET, IT WAS A BIZARRE REFLECTION OF THAT REALITY, TOO.

SO, HE MUST HAVE SEEN HIS EXPERIENCE

FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE WHEN HE WAS IN THE WILD WEST SHOW.

Narrator: SITTING BULL LIKED BUFFALO BILL,

WHO GAVE HIM A HANDSOME HAT

AND THE GRAY HORSE HE'D RIDDEN IN THE SHOW AS GIFTS.

BUT HE COULD NOT UNDERSTAND

WHY BEGGARS WERE LEFT TO DRIFT ABOUT THE STREETS

OF BIG CITIES.

AND HE GAVE MUCH OF HIS PAY AWAY

TO NEWSBOYS AND HOBOS HE MET ON THE TOUR.

White: THIS IS A SHOW ABOUT CONQUEST.

THIS IS A SHOW ABOUT THE CONQUEST OF THE WEST.

WITH EVERYTHING THAT THE AUDIENCE SEES,

IS INDIANS ATTACKING WHITES.

THIS IS THE STRANGE STORY OF AN INVERTED CONQUEST.

IT'S A CELEBRATION OF CONQUEST,

IN WHICH THE CONQUERORS ARE THE VICTIMS.

AND THERE'S SOMETHING AT ONE LEVEL

THAT STILL IS DEEPLY WEIRD ABOUT THIS.

WHAT IS GOING ON WHEN YOU CELEBRATE A CONQUEST,

AND YOU ONLY SHOW YOURSELF BEING VICTIMIZED?

IT'S CONQUEST WON WITHOUT THE GUILT.

WE DIDN'T PLAN IT. THEY ATTACKED US.

AND WHEN WE ENDED UP, WE HAD THE WHOLE CONTINENT.

BUFFALO BILL SAYS THE WILD WEST IS OVER.

IT'S FINISHED, IT'S DONE.

THE CONQUEST OF THE WEST IS NOW TAKEN PLACE.

AND ALL HE CAN DO IS RE-ENACT IT FOR YOU.

THE WEST IS STILL OUT THERE, BUT IT'S NOT THE SAME WEST

THAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN 10 OR 20 YEARS AGO.

Narrator: AFTER FOUR MONTHS WITH THE WILD WEST SHOW,

SITTING BULL RETURNED TO HIS HOME

AT THE STANDING ROCK RESERVATION.

THERE HE HAD ANOTHER OF HIS MYSTICAL VISIONS

ABOUT THE FUTURE.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

IN 1876, ONE VISION HAD WARNED HIM

THAT THE ARMY WAS MARCHING AGAINST THE LAKOTA.

ANOTHER VISION HAD PREDICTED

THAT CUSTER'S SOLDIERS AT THE LITTLE BIG HORN

WOULD FALL INTO HIS VILLAGE, UPSIDE DOWN.

BUT NOW, HE HAD A NEW VISION. THIS ONE WAS EQUALLY CLEAR.

WANDERING ALONE NEAR HIS HOME ONE MORNING,

HE WATCHED A MEADOWLARK FLUTTER DOWN ONTO A HILLOCK.

THEN THE BIRD SPOKE TO HIM.

IT SAID, "YOUR OWN PEOPLE -- LAKOTAS -- WILL KILL YOU."

SITTING BULL HAD FAITH IN HIS VISIONS.

THEY HAD ALWAYS PROVED TRUE BEFORE.

♪♪ AH, NEBRASKA LAND ♪

♪ SWEET NEBRASKA LAND ♪

♪ UPON THY BURNING SOIL I STAND ♪

♪ AND I LOOK AWAY ACROSS THE PLAINS ♪

♪ AND I WONDER WHY IT NEVER RAINS ♪

♪ WE'VE REACHED THE LAND OF DESERT SWEET ♪

♪ WHERE NOTHIN' GROWS FOR MAN TO EAT ♪

♪ AND THE WIND THAT BLOWS WITH FEVERISH HEAT ♪

♪ ACROSS THOSE PLAINS SO HARD TO BEAT ♪

♪ THAT'S NEBRASKA LAND, SWEET NEBRASKA LAND ♪

♪ UPON THY BURNING SOIL I STAND ♪

♪ AND I LOOK AWAY ACROSS THE PLAINS ♪

♪ AND I WONDER WHY IT NEVER RAINS ♪

♪ WE HAVE NO WHEAT WE HAVE NO OATS ♪♪

♪ WE HAVE NO CORN TO FEED OUR SHOATS ♪

♪ OUR CHICKENS ARE SO VERY POOR ♪

♪ THEY BEG FOR CRUMBS OUTSIDE OUR DOOR ♪

♪ IN NEBRASKA LAND, SWEET NEBRASKA LAND ♪

♪ UPON THY BURNING SOIL I STAND ♪

♪ AND I LOOK AWAY ACROSS THE PLAINS ♪

♪ AND I WONDER WHY IT NEVER RAINS ♪

♪♪ OUR HORSES ARE A BRONCO RACE ♪

♪ STARVATION STARES THEM IN THE FACE ♪♪

♪ WE DO NOT LIVE WE ONLY STAY ♪

♪ FROM NEBRASKA LAND, SWEET NEBRASKA LAND ♪

♪ UPON THY BURNING SOIL I STAND ♪

♪ AND I LOOK AWAY ACROSS THE PLAINS ♪

♪ AND I WONDER WHY IT NEVER RAINS ♪♪