Tatanka made us what we are: A buffalo nation.
So long as the buffalo ran, our nation was strong.
From Tatanka, we took our food, our clothing, our shelter...
then the Whites came and brought strange, new things with them.
They traded with our enemies the crow and other tribes.
We Lakota traded little with the Whites.
This caused anger among some of us.
[Speaking lakota language]
Fort William
Wheelerton, Virginia
I have passed many joyous years among Thunder Heart Woman's people,
I felt a strong yearning to return to the place of my birth,
so that our daughter Margaret Light Shines would know something of her father's world.
Just who might you be?
This is the Wheeler house, is it not?
We don't know any Indians.
Are you cousin Rachel, the daughter of Benjamin and Abigail Wheeler?
I'm Naomi, Rachel's younger sister.
My god.
I thought you were still a child.
I'm Jacob.
Your father's my uncle.
We're cousins!
This is my family.
Well, I'll be.
We heard from Nathan, a letter...
he's in Texas.
He's married to...
a Mexican.
Well, Texas is getting settled now, thanks to folks like Nathan.
Be proud of Nathan, mother.
He helped whip santa anna.
I just wish he'd come back home, even if it's just to visit.
Would it be proper if my wife were to take his seat for now?
Oh, yes.
Yes, of course, and light shines beside you.
What's that?
This is a very special gift from my bride.
Lord, you have blessed us this day with the return of my son Jacob.
Thank you, lord,
and perhaps someday you will guide our other lost child Nathan to us
so that he can be at this table with us so
we can all break bread as a family once again.
Amen.
Uh, here ya are, wakin-yan-techate...
Waki-yan-techantewyn.
It translates as Thunder Heart Woman.
What is it you intend to do, Jacob?
What we've always done.
What we all do, be a wheelwright.
That is, if you'll allow me, father.
Of course I'll allow you.
Business isn't as it was, bank failures and all.
People barter for services nowadays, but we'll get by.
Bunk here until things turn for the better.
Your squaw feel the same?
Now don't call her my squaw.
She's my wife, my woman, my missus.
There ain't nothin' dirty about it.
I lived with her people, hunted buffalo with them.
I learned to honor their ways.
They made me one of their sacred own.
I hope you'll do the same for her.
We'll do our best.
It may take time.
It's a boy.
She didn't cry out, not a bit.
How's that possible?
Leah, Indians aren't human.
They don't feel pain like we do.
They're heathens.
I will name him after grandfather...
Abraham.
And his Indian name will be "high wolf. "
One thing I can't get out of my head are those California oranges.
This big.
Bright and shiny, grow everywhere.
Boy, I miss them.
Then why'd you come home?
Oh, Mexicans pushed us out, but people are pushing back.
Just like Texas, california's like a virgin lookin' for a husband.
It's gonna draw folks, no matter what the dons say or do.
Could be a positive thing for a man, to be a part of it all, help settle the country.
Look at brother Nathan.
He stuck it out in Texas.
Now he's got a farm, raisin' a family.
He didn't come back home, tail tucked between his legs.
You know, I came close to losin' my scalp a number of times.
If it hadn't been for Mr. Jedediah Smith or a man named Fletcher...
he the one that came here that day, wanted his rifle-cock replaced?
That's him.
Stood right over there.
He's dead now.
Talked about gold and fortunes.
I remember.
Now he's gone.
So much for dreams of glory.
That kind of life, it always carries a price.
Nothin' comes easy, but Mr. Smith is not dead.
He's out there blazin' trails, makin' a name for himself.
Plenty of glory goin' around out there, and he deserves most of it.
Greatest man I ever met.
Hides?
Pelts?
Got too many of 'em already.
Got somethin' we can use?
Any of those you're willing to barter?
'Cause there's a lot of lonely boys headin' west.
There's no preachers or high-falutin' women to tell 'em a man's pleasure ain't right.
Understand?
'Course you do.
Jacob!
Jacob, look here, Jacob...
what's in the newspaper.
"Pathfinders needed to escort parties "west from
Independence, Missouri through to california...
"following paths trail-blazed by the recently deceased Mr. Jedediah Smith"?
"Running low on water, " Mr. Smith went ahead of
the wagon train to find a watering hole or spring. "
He was leading a party on the cutoff to santa fe.
That part of the country's Comanche territory.
He knew that.
He cut sign with the best of them.
He... he knew a man alone ain't got a chance.
Well, he was a god-fearing man.
He was a modest man.
Saved my life up in a cave in Utah.
The Mojave had surrounded us.
Things were at their bleakest and it looked like the sun would wash our bones and he...
kept us goin' and he kept me believin'.
Now he's dead.
He wanted me to stay out west.
said if I didn't, I'd never know the man I could have been,
the man god wanted me to be.
Wheelerton's gone stale.
I don't know.
Maybe it's the dare of it all.
Besides, I don't like how they treat you...
or young margaret light shines.
It's not like family.
They will grow accustomed to us.
A man expects more from family.
I want back west.
It will be hard for the children.
We'll go in slow, easy stages.
This is your home.
Virginia's your people.
A man don't make history by sleepin' in the same bunk he was born in.
History?
And takin' your brother with you.
Took Nathan last time.
We haven't seen hide or hair of him since.
I'm goin' because I wish to.
I had a chance before and I didn't go.
I won't make the same mistake twice.
Don't expect to come back in good times and get a piece of the family business.
That goes to them that works it.
That's understood.
Bye.
I just wanted to hold the baby a little while longer.
That's what comes of marryin' Indians: Longin' for the wilds.
Let's go, Jethro.
Pa...
thank you, mother.
Jacob, wait for me!
Wait!
Who's that?!
Rachel!
Come to say good-bye?!
I'm goin' with you!
Whoa!
There's nothin' for us here,
nothin' for any of us, and we can help with the children.
Well, who's we?
Naomi's fiance went and married someone else.
She wants to disappear from the face of the earth.
We figure that's where you're goin'.
Is that Leah comin' with her?
She wants to disappear, too.
Try as I might,
my impetuous cousins could not be made to reconsider.
I wrote to ma and pa to explain things,
but knew I left them bereft.
I hoped that I would prove equal to the responsibility I had undertaken.
Western Plains, 1837
[Speaks native language]
8 muskets for 4 ponies.
8...
For 4...
Our journey from Virginia to Independence took 3 years.
Like most other folks in the restless young America,
we stopped and settled for a while,
worked, then pushed on again.
Houses were built then abandoned before the trees came into berry.
Fields were planted, then left for others to reap the harvest.
On the way, we had another child, a boy, Jacob jr.
Into the deep, blue clear waters of the pacific ocean.
Welcome, friends!
Is it the golden coast you seek?
The shangri-la of the west?
Californ-eye-aye?
Have you ever been there?
No, no, can't say as I have.
Well, I've been. I've seen.
And what's your assessment?
By comparison, everything else is a dung heap.
Well put!
We're in agreement, sir!
Welcome!
We can use a man
who's been down that trail.
We have close to the makings of a train here.
Don't want too big a company.
We wish to travel light and fast.
And safe?
Yes, sir!
That's it, exactly.
Sign up.
Contract's there.
List your members, your intentions, equipment, skills.
You accept free men of color?
Where are you from, sir?
Illinois.
They love us as a race there, but hate us as people.
We're headin' west for acceptance.
Join us.
You joining this train, mister?
I'm thinking on it.
There's a lot of rules and regulations here, mister.
Hoxie's the name.
Stephen hoxie.
I'm providing wagons, horses, cattle, stores,
and doing that, I figure to captain this train.
Not to pilot, mind you.
Not our guide.
But the man in charge?
Somebody's got to be.
Might as well be the fellow who can provide for all.
A wagon train is like a passenger ship on a lonely prairie ocean.
Always a captain on the ship.
We need rules, standards, organization, young man.
Everyone needs a task.
Jethro, they got a member's council.
"Report to captain.
" $10 tax per person?
Moral clause?
As the saying goes, when alien peoples meet,
first they fight, and then they fornicate.
We need to preserve our dignity, our civilized ways.
Can't let savagery infect us.
We intend to sit out the rains, depart come spring.
That way we beat winter in the sierras.
Well,
come see me if you have questions at Colonel Nolan's hotel and tavern.
What about missouri?
Rachel: We're in missouri.
The land is rich.
There are plenty of people, farms, settlements.
Why not stay here?
It's swamp country.
Malaria, pestilence.
Don't want it, don't need it.
No fever in california.
I heard one fella talkin',
said folks routinely live 150, 200 years in california, the climate's so good.
Falderal.
Nobody can live that long.
One old coot, they say, was 250 years old.
And he plum had enough, decided he wanted to die.
What'd they do, feed him Mexican food?
There's an argument to be made for Oregon.
I mean, at least they speak english.
True.
Who's gonna talk spaniard when we get to California?
You, Jacob?
Those dons are educated.
They speak english.
California or bust.
Didn't tell me you were a cooper Smith.
We're obliged to the proprietor for lettin' us use the shop.
Make another wagon for the journey.
We're wheelwrights.
That's my brother jethro.
Next to pilots and Indian fighters,
there's few things as crucial to the success of a train
as a skilled wheelwright.
You hadn't come by noland'S.
We intend to leave in a matter of days.
How many wagons?
18.
I've hired a pilot named josiah bell.
He ran with Fitzpatrick, trapping beaver, fighting Indians.
He's been everywhere.
He's got 2 scouts with him.
Including the others, we have 22 armed men.
Oh, yeah?
Horses or oxen?
Horses and mules.
Think those wheels can handle the trail?
I expect so.
Iron tires, 2 and a half inches, bolted.
Well, that's a substantial wagon.
Conestoga, we call it.
Well-seasoned wood, falling tongues, well-steeled skeins.
What about extra axles?
Can't do without 'em.
Tires buckle, wagon tongues snap, front axles fail.
The lower half of the wagon, Mr. Hoxie,
that's where all your problems all.
The running gear, we call it.
We can sure use folks like you on this journey.
I got a part-time cooperSmith, and a half-assed wainwright,
but no wheelwright.
Well, we sure would love to come,
only we don't have $80.
I'll loan you.
Won't be indebted, either.
Then what?
Well, you pay for the extra axles,
spokes, and tongues and heavy equipment.
Me and jethro's labor for the journey will come to about $80, I reckon.
Don't you figure, jethro?
Right about 80, brother.
Yes, sir.
And so, the Wheeler party rolled out of independence,
heading west, northwest on hoxie's train.
Wagon-master hoxie was a regular napoleon of the plains,
wanted everybody to call him captain, even though he'd never been near a uniform.
His hired pilot was a frontiersman by the name of josiah bell,
and there were 2 scouts named meeks and skate.
Bonnets.
I'd seen their kind before.
Rough-hewn boys, chawbacons,
come west not for adventure or riches or exploration,
but for women and whiskey.
And god only knows what they were running from.
With us was hobbes,
a german preacher who claimed also to be a doctor.
He led us in prayer when we departed independence,
asking the lord's guidance, and protection from disease,
accidents, beasts of prey, and wild heathens.
When he said the last, he was staring straight at Thunder Heart Woman.
She didn't pay him no mind.
Form up the wagons as tight as possible.
Form 'em up!
You hear that?!
Tighten up!
Whoa.
Come up here.
My god, Rachel.
How many do you think there are?
Too many to count, I'll tell you that.
They're beautiful.
I can feel their breathe.
Our first sighting of a buffalo herd was a memorable moment for all.
I'd seen it before, but I was still in awe.
Sheer, dumbstruck awe.
Why'd you have to do that?!
It's meat, ma'am.
You got something against meat?
What did we bring cattle for then?
Killing them saves cattle for the journey.
Believe it or not, ma'am, there'll be spots where game is scarce.
Even buffler.
What's that?!
Wolves.
Mountain men, wolves, and buzzards, a regular jamboree of like-minded idiots.
Why don't you pretty ladies go on and collect chips for us?
Chips?
Buffalo chips were prairie fuel,
oil of the plains, fuel for the campfire,
manna from the bison, fast and plenty.
But somebody had to gather them.
Here, put them in here.
What's your name?
Marquis jones, from illinois.
How many of these do they expect us to collect?
That greasy-looking pig said as many as we could.
We'll show him.
Make a circle.
Circle 'em up, my friends!
Be it ever so humble
there's no place like home
a charm from the skies
seems to hallow us there
which seek through the world
is never met elsewhere
home, home, sweet, sweet home
there's no place like home
The wolves today, it was bad sign.
And these people you have chosen to lead us, they are bad sign.
We should go back.
Tomorrow.
These people don't believe in magic or sign.
Do you?
I can't get these people to turn back now.
You know that.
You'll not try?
No, I won'T.
The sentinels awaken the train at 4:00.
By 5 A.M.,
The animals were rounded up for the morning trek.
Breakfast was from 6:00 to 7:00, and at 7:00 precisely, the signal was given to advance.
Forward!
Teams were rotated daily so that the wagons in the
vanguard one day would be in the extreme rear the next,
and work their way up the column day by day.
Being in the tail of the column was always
worst, due to the dust kicked up by the wagons.
Captain hoxie wanted things organized "for
the welfare of all the overlanders," he'd say.
Wherever you were bound, there was one golden
rule for the pioneers: Follow the river.
Bring 'em right here!
Pick it up!
Push it!
Keep it moving!
That's it!
Keep it on the angle there!
Keep it on the angle!
Let the hold-rope pull you, jethro, on the angle!
On the angle!
I know!
You told me a thousand times!
Easy now!
Hyah!
Stay on the oblique, preacher.
Watch the current!
Somebody!
Help them!
Help!
Get them!
No!Help!
No!
Help!
Aah!
Leah!
She fell, jethro!
Stay with the wagon!
She can't swim!
Neither can you!
Ho!
Leah!
Where is she?!
Do you see her?
No!
You were to cross at the angle with everybody else to wait for the hold-ropes!
But, no, you wouldn't listen!
Those are grounds to cut you off, preacher, and leave you here.
Damn it, captain hoxie!
That's enough now.
Leave it.
No.
God, in his greatness,
in his mysterious workings,
has taken this child from us.
We weep for her and her family,
and we know that god weeps with us.
Though we know not why,
we thank thee, god, for thy blessings,
and pray that you will protect this child.
Show us thy will.
Let they mercy rest on us.
Amen.
All: Amen.
I've had enough of this wagon train business.
I wanna go back, Jacob.
Me, too.
Back to missouri, you hear?
We're all sick of it!
The women, anyway.
Take us back!
Miss Rachel?
I just wanted to say how...
how sorry I am about your sister.
Thank you, Mr. Ebbetts.
You can call me james.
Or jim, even.
Jim.
I hope it's not the case that you're planning on going back, miss Rachel.
'Cause I sure do enjoy the sight of you here in this train.
Your presence.
It pleases me.
My presence?
The sight of me?
I'd give anything to feel like a woman again.
Clean hair, smooth skin, wearing my sunday best.
Maybe go on a picnic.
That's as much prairie as I ever wanna see again.
And then right back home.
A place that doesn't weave and roll to the sway of the land.
Something fixed and permanent.
A place to rest.
Leah's resting now.
She's the lucky one.
Storm's a-coming!
Better take shelter in that cover up ahead.
Trees are gettin' scarce, captain.
We gotta grab the ones we got.
Can we not obtain a few more miles, at least?
Last thing you want in the wide open is a storm.
He's right, captain hoxie!
Follow me!
Take cover!
Ya!
Get into a circle!
Nobody run!
Come on!
Take cover from the storm!
Get in here!
Watch it!
Women and children under the wagons!
Hang on to it!
Don't let it go!
Aah!
Whoa!
We gotta get out of the wagon!
I got the baby!Hurry, Jacob!
Come on!
Alright Jacob, get'em out of there.
Come on!
Underneath!
Ok! It's safer under there!
Get underneath!
Everybody, underneath!
No!
I'm not going!
Naomi!
Kill me!
Please, god, hit me with a thunderbolt!
Get back here!
Leave me be!
I wanna die!
Naomi!
Good, skate!
Thanks!
No!
Cattle stomped my boy.
Ran right over him.
Come on, boys!