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JAMES: I was born James Aherne, Jr.

This is my story,

The story of how I became War Bonnet,

Son of Yellow Eagle.

A white boy who grew up to be an Indian.

My hair is dark now.

When I was 11, it was sandy yellow.

1868 was the year.

Our wagon train was passing through the Black Hills,

Indian country.

There were buffalos, great herds of them.

But I could only look. I mustn't reach for a gun.

For this was Sioux country, the scouts said.

And the Sioux had signed a peace treaty

With the government.

We were free to pass through their land

Only if we obeyed the rules made by these hostiles.

That's what the scout called Indians.

My father was a schoolmaster.

A good man, kind and brave.

We'd come west to build a new home.

There wasn't much left of the old one after the war

Between the states.

But even here, 2,000 miles from Virginia,

Dad never forgot the importance of books.

The wagon was his classroom.

Sometimes there were regular lessons.

Reading, writing and arithmetic.

But most of the time, he would read to us.

Maybe because he knew we liked it better.

Old poems, stories of great adventure,

Over and over.

Some of them I still know by heart.

I guess I'll never forget them.

Nor the sound of his voice as he read.

This was the last time Dad was ever to read to me.

(Crows screaming)

(Dramatic theme playing)

JAMES: I didn't know then that these Indians

Weren't the Sioux who had made the treaty.

They were Crows raiding Sioux territory.

They hated the Sioux

For having made peace with the white man.

(Ominous theme playing)

(Sioux Indians screaming)

More Indians came. Many more Indians.

Sioux Indians.

And they chased the murderers away.

The Crow had done a good job in the wagon train.

I was the only one left.

I wasn't trying to be brave.

I was just scared enough to fight back.

It was the Sioux chief, Yellow Eagle,

Who came at me first.

He grabbed the spear, then he began to talk to me.

I didn't know what he was saying because at that time,

I didn't understand the language of the Sioux.

I was really frightened.

But there was something in his voice,

Something that said maybe he wasn't going to harm me.

Then an argument started. I was sure it was about me,

That the others wanted to kill me.

Running Dog had taken a scalp from the Crow

Who laid dead next to my father.

Did he want mine next?

And that's when Yellow Eagle did a strange thing.

He made Running Dog give the scalp to me.

It was mine because I had killed the Crow.

In his eyes, I was a warrior,

And he gave me the name War Bonnet.

I wasn't frightened anymore.

All I wanted to do was to bury my father.

(Melancholic theme playing)

"So be it written in the Book of Love,

"I care not about the Book Above.

"Erase my name or write it as you will.

So be it written in the Book of Love."

By Omar Khayyam.

Amen.

(Upbeat theme playing)

If the council says war,

Will you fight against the white men, War Bonnet?

Only women ask foolish questions.

Am I not Yellow Eagle's son?

I am your friend. It is my right to ask.

If it were two days journey from a mountain,

Would you ask what you will do when you get to the mountain?

You wait to get there.

To cross a mountain, you can go two ways.

Up or around.

If the council says war,

There is only one way a Sioux can go.

I will follow the way of Yellow Eagle.

I am glad.

While you two talk and dream in the sunlight,

Others have gone after a herd of wild ponies.

Running Dog will catch the best ones for himself.

And who will teach Running Dog which are the best?

Hurry, before they're all gone.

And remember,

You must catch a white one. You promised that.

I will capture a white one for you, Luta.

The white pony will be yours.

Now you have two promises, little sister.

Little sister.

Man of stone. Man who sees no woman.

Man of no love.

Blind one.

(Horses neigh)

(Horses neigh)

(Horse neighs)

War Bonnet always gets the best.

Because he is the best.

Is that how Luta feels?

Luta will smile on you

Like the moon smiles on the snow.

The pony is yours.

I give you back your own words.

I am your friend,

I have the right to give you this gift.

Take him.

But you promised Luta that you would...

Could a brother bring gifts to his sister?

It will come better from you.

When you give him to Luta, make certain I am not near.

Why?

Because when I see you looking like a lovesick calf,

I will laugh out loud

And Luta will take a stick to me.

Tomorrow's council will be the biggest in memory.

No bigger than the one 15 summers ago.

I was there.

White Thunder himself will speak tomorrow.

I learn words from greater chiefs.

They say even the white men fear him.

They say.

Small men easily give the name of greatness

To feel less small themselves.

(Chuckles)

My Pehangi speaks wisdom.

And I do not like stupid talk of war.

My Pehangi also talks too much.

That is a fine shield you make for War Bonnet.

Will he use it against the whites?

War Bonnet is my son. My enemies are his.

He is ready to fight.

To fight Crows.

His heart does not forget, they killed his father.

I am his father.

Does his heart forget that his people were white?

You speak like Running Dog who hates him.

No.

That is not true. But my eyes are clear.

I say War Bonnet will not fight

Against his own people.

(Dramatic theme playing)

My shield will be the finest at the council.

We will be there soon.

I have words to say to you before the council sits.

It is said the white soldiers have broken the treaty.

If we go to war,

I would want you to ride at my side.

That is why I made you this shield.

My son, I ask only one thing.

Do not bring disgrace to my name.

The white men are our friends.

Have they not told us so?

In our treaty,

They said our people could live forever in peace and friendship

In the Black Hills.

They said we could hunt in peace and friendship

As far south as the great river.

They said their soldiers would protect us

Against other white men

Who might seek to steal our land,

Spoil our hunting.

Those are the things they promised.

This is the treaty

I, White Thunder, signed in blood.

But the white men found yellow iron

In the Black Hills.

They built an iron road across our land

And brought the iron horse.

Some of our people try to stop these white men.

The soldiers came as they had promised.

But they were not the soldiers who made the treaty.

Their chiefs were not the chiefs

Who signed the treaty.

They punished our people who try to stop these invaders.

They drove our people from our hills.

But do not be angry at the white men.

Remember, they are our friends.

Soon they will be coming to protect you.

To take you to the reservations.

They will give you cow beef and white flour to eat.

You will hunt no more.

They will take away your weapons and ponies.

In peace and friendship,

You who were once great warriors

Will sit by the fire and mumble stories

To your grandchildren.

And they will laugh behind your bent backs.

But the grandchildren of White Thunder

Will not laugh.

They will know that White Thunder and the Oglalas

Stayed behind to hunt and fight. TRIBESMAN: Yeah.

Let Yellow Eagle speak for the Miniconjou.

I am chief of all the Miniconjou.

I too was at Horse Creek at the signing of the treaty.

And before that,

My lance was hurled in battle against the soldiers.

White Thunder has said he and the Oglalas will fight.

That is good.

It is better to fight than surrender your land.

The Oglalas are a proud part of the great Sioux nation.

And so are the Miniconjou.

Our boundaries are marked

By the blood and bones of our fathers

Who fought to hold our land.

But I say to you...

Let us be certain the treaty has been broken

Before we take to the warpath.

Does Yellow Eagle speak thus because his son is a white man?

Will War Bonnet speak for himself?

Is it the pigment of a man's skin

Which makes him a Miniconjou?

A member of the mighty Sioux?

Is it the color of his eyes?

No, neither of these things.

It is the beating inside his body.

The throbbing inside which tells him

How great is the love he has for his father.

For his mother, his sister.

For all these blood brothers and friends.

And it is this same love

Which demands the truth for his loved ones,

Which demands that he does not spill their blood,

Sioux blood,

Because of rumors.

How do we know the treaty has been broken?

Which of you with his own eyes

Has seen the white soldiers on the warpath

Against the Sioux?

White Thunder has said it.

WAR BONNET: White Thunder has said it,

But White Thunder has not seen it.

We must first know the white soldiers are our enemies

Before we spill blood.

He speaks with the smoothness of the white man.

But I fight with the courage of a Sioux.

At the council it is said

All may speak their minds openly.

And it is said that the coyote speaks

From the protection of the pack.

My son has spoken wisdom that is old.

Now I speak for all the Miniconjou.

I say we wait and learn if the white soldiers want war.

I say to fight now

Would be to the liking of our enemies, the black Crows.

It is so. We must not fight two enemies.

How will the Miniconjou learn if the white soldiers seek war?

Will you go to them and ask?

My son will go.

He knows the tongue of his childhood.

He will go to the fort beyond the big river.

He will listen and see with his eyes.

And he will learn.

How long must we wait for this knowledge?

We will not wait too long.

Two moons?

Two moons.

We will wait two moons. No more.

(All speaking indistinctly)

(Gunshots)

(Gunshots and Crows shouting indistinctly)

SOLDIER: Get down! Come on, get down!

Go, lads!

(Firing stops)

SOLDIER: Them Crows are tricky.

What do you think?

They're still out there, Lieutenant.

Well, we just have to try and hold out till dark

And then make a run for it.

If we last that long.

Sarge is right. They'll cut us down one at a time.

Comes dark, it'll be more than one at a time.

They can see real good in the dark.

(Indian screams)

We got friends in there.

(Gunshots)

I'm Lieutenant Hathersall. Fort Duane.

Here, let me fix that cut for you.

Here, use this.

Where are your friends, mister?

I'd like to thank them for pulling us out of this hole.

I'm alone.

It ain't possible.

They're gone, Lieutenant. What's left of them.

There's dead Indians all over the woods.

All with a knife and arrow.

Who are you, mister?

My name is Aherne. Jim Aherne.

I'm taking some ponies to the fort to sell.

Just a minute, Mr. Aherne. White men don't take scalps.

I do.

I take Crow scalps.

WESTON: So you can imagine my surprise, sir,

When he said he was alone.

Well, let's have a look

At this one-man army, Hathersall.

Do we keep our hair covered?

A lot of white trappers take scalps, Vaugant.

Out there with the Indians,

They learn to keep their own scalp

And take the other fellow's.

No different than our own souvenir-hunting soldiers.

Let him in, orderly.

Will you come in, sir?

I'm Colonel Ellis, Mr. Aherne.

Captain Vaugant.

You have our thanks and compliments, Mr. Aherne.

I intend sending a full report to the War Department.

You'll receive a proper commendation

Through official channels.

Won't you sit down?

What can I do for you to show our gratitude?

There's talk you'll soon go on the warpath against the Sioux.

You'd like some action with us, is that it?

I'm sorry, I can't promise you that.

See, we have a treaty with the hostiles.

Hostiles? The Indians.

We're waiting to hear from Washington

Whether the hostiles are willing

To let civilization move further west.

This is Sioux country.

We can't let a mob of savages hold back progress.

Oh, remember, Captain, we have a treaty.

We'll sit here and twiddle our thumbs

Until Washington tells us otherwise.

Oh, from what Hathersall tells me, Aherne,

We could use a man like you

If Washington orders us to march.

When will you know? Soon I hope.

We have to wait through official channels.

That's the way of the Army, you know.

Oh, Hathersall,

See that Mr. Aherne gets whatever he needs.

All the comforts of the post.

Yes, sir.

WESTON: Tally, if you'd rather not go through with it...

Fine time to tell me.

Come here, Arnold, and make yourself useful.

That big dish.

And two of the small ones.

Now take them into the kitchen.

I can always make some kind of explanation.

Well, you invited him. Besides dinner is cooked.

I refuse to be cheated out of one of your dinners.

That chair too, Arnold, please.

Does he eat cooked food, Wes?

Tally, after all, he's a white man.

How do you know?

You'd have to scrape off some of that dirt to see.

Tally,

You think we can trust Weston's dinner guest with a knife?

Oh, I think maybe we can take...

Civilized people don't listen in

On private conversations, Mr. Aherne.

Savages speak their insults to a man's face.

TALLY: Arnold, please.

I'm Tally, Mr. Aherne. Weston's sister.

WESTON: Come in, Aherne. Come in.

Weston, maybe Mr. Aherne will have some port before dinner.

You bet, some port it is.

I'm sorry, but we'll be busy this evening.

Good night, Captain.

If you'd prefer to have dinner with that savage.

TALLY: Let him go. Let him go. WESTON: Aherne, stop it.

Stop it, you hear me?

I'll have you in a cell for this.

No, Captain. If you try that,

I'll have to tell the entire story to Colonel Ellis.

I'm sorry, Aherne. Jim.

Vaugant didn't mean all that.

Then he speaks things only to please his friends.

I think we need some port.

Well, you see, so little ever happens here in the post.

Well, you're coming here and all,

It's just something to gossip about.

Makes so-called smart conversation.

Well, I mean...

I'll see to the dinner.

I eat cooked meat, Miss Hathersall.

Yes, of course.

Naturally.

I deserved that.

You see, I was just as guilty of making smart conversation.

Thanks for what you did for us this morning, Jim.

Berry juice.

(Melancholic theme playing)

Just a few minutes now.

Have you read it, Mr. Aherne?

A long time ago.

"I care not about that Book Above.

Erase my name or write it as you will."

(Slow theme playing)

It is not long until the second moon.

He will come.

Sometimes I think War Bonnet has found new friends,

New blood brothers, among the whites.

You do not speak as his friend?

I do not mean it to sound that way.

When I am with you, Luta,

The thoughts inside my head has to be told.

You do not feel the love I have for you.

It is a love which wants to share all.

Even the smallest thoughts.

I do not feel love

For one who speaks of War Bonnet as a traitor.

WESTON: * All jump up And never come down *

* Swing that pretty girl Round and round *

* Swing her feet Right off the ground *

* Now, men, left... *

Wes, do you like Jim Aherne?

When you ask an offhand question like that,

I need time to weigh my answer.

Why is Tally asking me?

What's she after?

Should I commit myself or no?

You better commit yourself. Ow. I confess.

I like him.

I have reason to.

But you, you have your pick around here.

Why Jim Aherne?

It's gonna be a lovely evening, won't it?

* Oh, ladies to the center Back to back *

* Gentlemen... *

(Square dance music playing)

MAN: * Drop that gait And make it eight *

* And the men left With the old left hand *

* Right to your honey With the right-left band *

* Here we go With the old man's wagon *

* Five wheels off And the axle draggin' *

* Meet your honey And you pat her on the head *

* If she don't like that Speed to code red *

* Promenade home Two by two *

* Bow to your partner Corners all *

* That's it, boys That's it, that's all *

(Indistinct chattering and cheering)

Where do you suppose he is? I haven't seen him.

I don't know. I haven't seen him.

(Indistinct chattering)

(Upbeat waltz music playing)

May I have the next dance, Mr. Aherne?

"Why, yes, Miss Hathersall. You may have this next dance."

(Upbeat waltz music continues playing)

That's it. Just forget your feet.

You dance on wings.

It's a beautiful night, isn't it?

The Sioux have a saying

That a beautiful face is more wonderful to look on

Than all the sights in the sky.

We'll be missed inside. We better go.

If we don't go,

There'll be all kinds of gossip.

Well, you do have to help me, you know.

No, Jim. Not like that.

Here, put your hands together.

Bend down then take my foot.

Now, when I say go, give me a boost.

Now go.

Thank you.

Now put my foot in the stirrup.

Sorry to keep you waiting. Here, I'll take that, Jim.

Fine chaperone you are.

Well, blame the colonel. He's worried.

Anything wrong?

There was a three-man patrol due in at dawn.

They haven't come in yet.

The colonel may want you later to help pick up their trail.

After the picnic, Mr. Hathersall.

How do you pick up trails?

Well, the prints of a horse tell you about the rider.

The soldier's horse is shod. Indian's is not.

If the prints are deep in the trail,

The horse was carrying a heavy load.

The spacing of the prints tells you how fast it was going.

Suppose we get going.

The best spot for a picnic's the foot of the hill.

Close to the fort.

(Ominous theme playing)

What is it?

A smoke signal.

Can you tell what they're saying?

I have to leave.

Jim, will it be for long?

I don't know.

You will come back?

Yes, I'll come back.

(Suspenseful theme playing)

(Cooing)

I'm here, Long Mane.

This is Luta's necklace. Where is she?

Crows, 14 graves.

They took Luta from the soldiers.

She was going to the fort to find you.

Your friends, the white soldiers.

Was is not you who said,

"Which of you with his own eyes

"Has seen the white soldiers on the warpath

Against the Sioux?"

You are a man of too many words.

We will have to ride hard through the night

To reach the Crow camp.

When the sun rises tomorrow, Luta will die.

But we are so few. We are enough.

Dogs will smell us and bark.

They have no dogs. They would bark at the moon.

I can see the white pony.

I say we go home and make up a big war party.

She's my sister, I say we will not wait.

And I say we will not wait.

What's is it we must do?

You and Jumping Calf will come with me

To stampede their ponies.

Help me get Luta away.

We will come back this way.

Your guns will covers us from here.

We are fools to be led by fools.

We risk death from the darkness.

For a woman.

They'll never leave the Crow camp alive.

We wait here to die.

What would we say to Yellow Eagle?

Say that Long Mane and Jumping Calf

Followed Luta to the fort and were killed by soldiers.

Who will be alive to say this is a lie?

She must be in the medicine lodge.

Cut the hobbles on those ponies. Be ready.

(Horse snorts)

Luta. Luta.

Here. Here.

War Bonnet. I prayed for you to come.

WAR BONNET: Shh.

(Screams)

Hurry!

(Shouting indistinctly and horses neighing)

(Suspenseful theme playing)

(Crows shouting indistinctly and horses neighing)

(Shouts)

Hyah!

Hyah!

(Horses neighing)

(Ominous theme playing)

(Crows shouting indistinctly)

(Gunshots)

Take the forest trail, go.

(Gunshots)

(Shouting indistinctly)

Where are Running Dog and Standing Bear?

Ask the wind.

Those great warriors of the big voices.

Look.

(Dramatic theme playing)

(Shouting indistinctly)

The Crows chase shadows.

Come, we've far to go.

To the fort? We're going home.

(Melancholic theme playing)

Washington will keep on pussyfooting

With these savages until we're all wiped out.

There's only one solution, exterminate.

Burn out their villages.

It's the only way to bring civilization to these parts.

Hostiles. Four of them, with guns.

Take all but the detail into the woods.

No shooting until I give the order.

There may be more of them.

All but the detail into the woods.

They have found their dead.

(Gun cocks)

There is nothing to fear, I will tell them what happened.

No, please. They will not listen.

They will recognize me, they will listen.

They are not our friends. They took Luta.

Not all soldiers are like those three.

Do not fear, little sister. Come.

(Ominous theme playing)

You men right here, prepare to fire.

LONG MANE: Luta.

To the woods, quick.

(Melancholic theme playing)

Ohh!

(Pehangi whimpering)

Soldiers did this.

I led her to them.

I told her to have no fear.

I did this.

The soldiers fired their guns though we came in peace.

Take her. She's cold.

(Pehangi whimpering)

(Pehangi sobbing)

From this day forth, let no man call me white.

Let no man say to me the white man is his friend.

You must rest, my son.

I do not rest till I have done that

That shall cool my blood.

Nor do I.

It's our fight, Long Mane. No.

It is the law of our people.

You who ran away. Hear me.

I call you traitors. I call you cowards!

You who ran home and lied.

You now hide with the women?

Must I drag you from your lodge

And beat you from the camp?

(Dramatic theme playing)

Get your lance and pony and face me.

May you...

He who has lived without honor, must die without honor.

It is the law. It is just.

Now do you give the word for war, Yellow Eagle?

May I speak, my Father?

At the great council,

I talked against war with the soldiers.

Now I know my tongue was foolish.

My eyes were blinded

Because of the pigment of my skin.

Now I know they come to kill.

And I say the killing to be done

Shall be done by the Miniconjou.

By all Sioux. ALL: Yeah. Yeah.

I am ready. And I.

My son speaks for all the Miniconjou.

ALL: Yeah.

It is good. Now hear me.

It is the cunning wolf who lives to old age.

The soldiers have many horses.

They will come fast, they have powerful guns.

I say hear me!

Many of these horses and guns can be ours.

I have thought long about this,

And I have thought well.

With no paint and no feathers,

The soldiers see you as one of them.

Tell them you will guide them to the Sioux camps.

Then bring them to where we will be waiting.

(Crowd murmuring)

(Military bugle playing)

Tally, put those things in my saddle bag?

They're all fixed on your bed.

Oh, Jim's back. He's going with us.

Where is he? With the colonel and Vaugant.

And no time to work any more charm on him, sis,

We're moving out in a few minutes.

All but two platoons are going along.

Ah, there's nothing to this one.

It shouldn't take long.

Catch Jim outside. He knows where to find me.

Oh.

Aren't you gonna say goodbye? Of course I am.

What kind of souvenirs would you like from the savages?

Just come back safely. All of you.

Excuse me.

(Horse neighs)

All right, Captain, I'll read the orders to the formation.

Sergeant, march your troops.

Platoon, come out!

I thought you might wanna take this with you.

When did you return to the fort?

Last night.

Without coming to see me? It was late.

ELLIS: Men, I want you to hear this dispatch

From the general and chief of the Army.

Colonel Robert Ellis,

Commanding officer of Fort Duane,

On receipt of this order,

You will take proper steps forthwith

To move all Indians within your territory

To the confines of reservations

Set aside for this purpose

By the Congress of the United States.

It is suggested that whenever and wherever possible,

Peaceful means should be exercised.

However, in the event of refusal

Or difficulty of any nature,

The commanding officer will use

Any and all force at his disposal

For the enforcement of this order.

You may move out, Captain Vaugant.

Good luck.

(Officer shouts indistinctly)

(Military bugle playing)

Why, Jim?

Why are you fighting against the Indians?

Didn't you once tell me primitive people

Have to give ground to civilization?

(Upbeat theme playing)

What is it?

Better hold up a minute while I scout ahead.

How much further?

About two hours riding and another two on foot.

This is a cavalry outfit, Mr. Aherne, we ride.

Sure, if you want every gun in the camp waiting for you.

Aherne knows his business, Captain.

Just what is his business?

Well, I'd stake my life on him.

That's what you are doing. All of us are.

You just don't like him. But I'm stuck with him.

And if he does any faking,

I'll hang him from the nearest tree.

(Suspenseful theme playing)

Their camp's just over that ridge.

Have your men stand by their horses

And keep them quiet.

All right, Sergeant. It's an order.

There it is.

Now, if you'll give me half your men,

I'll go round to the rear and cut them off.

You can rest your mind.

Whatever strategy is necessary will come from me.

Unfortunately, the Army is too civilized

To attack from ambush.

Personally, I'd like nothing better than to open fire

And start shrinking the mighty Sioux nation down to size.

Mr. Stanley, check your sights.

Yes, sir.

Aherne, take a white flag and ride into their camp.

Inform the chief of the order from Washington.

Tell him he's got two minutes to surrender before I attack.

Captain, you've overlooked one thing.

I don't plan to get myself killed.

You refused to obey the order?

It's a stupid order.

Roger, place this man under arrest.

May I respectfully remind the captain

That Mr. Aherne is not a member of the United States Army?

He is not compelled to serve as an emissary.

I stand corrected.

Never mind, Sergeant.

They teach the book

Of rules and regulations well at West Point, don't they?

I imagine you qualify better as an emissary.

Don't you agree, Mr. Hathersall?

Is it an order, sir?

Yes.

Yes. Let's make it an order.

As soon as they see him, they'll kill him.

Sounds logical.

Sergeant, get a white flag for the lieutenant.

Sir, may I have the captain's permission

To go with the lieutenant?

You see, Aherne, the Army is just filled to overflowing

With noble souls.

Yes, Sergeant, I think we can spare you.

Get another flag for yourself.

Don't be a fool.

He's in command. He's not fit to command.

He knows they won't give you a chance to speak.

As soon as they attack, he'll open fire.

Isn't it true these Indians understand some French, Aherne?

I hope West Point didn't neglect

Teaching you that language, Mr. Hathersall.

Hurry it up, Sergeant.

Using him for live bait,

He knows they haven't got a prayer.

Yeah, and that Norris has a wife and two kids.

When the shooting starts,

Vaugant better not turn his back my way.

Not you.

Sergeant Norris and I look out for each other.

(Horses neighing and Crows shouting indistinctly)

VAUGANT: Who fired that shot?

I don't know, sir. I didn't see a thing, sir.

It seemed to come from over there.

I was looking the other way. Sure scared me, though.

(Crows shouting indistinctly)

Lieutenant Stanley, commence firing.

I want that village leveled.

Battery. Fire!

How do you like that, Mr. Aherne?

Destroying the village won't help.

That's just a temporary war camp.

They'll only fall back in the woods

And wait for you.

Typical Crow trick.

Crows? That isn't a Sioux camp?

Were you looking for Sioux?

I thought just Indians. Any kind of Indians.

Martin.

Keep Mr. Aherne company.

I want him here when I get back.

I'll be here.

Ceasefire!

Mr. Hathersall. Yes, sir.

Take your men around to the south side.

I'll work in from the north.

We flush them out into range for Stanley to get.

Yes, sir.

Mount the troops. Take over, Mr. Stanley.

Be ready to fire when I drive them out of those woods.

Yes, sir.

(Stanley shouting orders indistinctly)

Forward! Ho!

(Military bugle playing)

Where do you wanna be kept company?

Hey, don't you ever smile?

You ain't mad all the time, are you?

You did a lot of smiling the night

You and Miss Hathersall were dancing.

Aw, don't let Vaugant worry you, Aherne.

He doesn't.

Every one of those men will be picked off, one by one.

You can't flush those Crows out of the woods with rifles.

You'd have to blast them out.

Sounds like a good way to me.

Captain didn't say we couldn't keep company

On that ammunition wagon.

You see, you can crack that face of yours

When you want to. Come on.

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.

What are you doing, Corporal?

Captain wants the wagon.

JAMES: Come on. Come on, come on. Hey!

(Horse snorts)

(Shouting indistinctly)

(Horse neighing)

(Gunshots continue)

(Screams)

Fight on foot.

SOLDIER: Lieutenant. Lieutenant.

Aherne sent me. Says don't go into those woods.

It's an ambush. He says for you to try to keep them

Pinned down in there. He and Martin will flush them out.

All right. Cover those thickets and fire at will!

(Gunshots continue)

We're getting short of ammunition, sir.

Conserve.

Where the devil is Hathersall?

Give me the rope. Them that live through this

We'll be coming out of the woods real quick.

Let 'er rip!

(Shouting indistinctly)

(Military bugle playing)

The captain's got it in the shoulder.

Tanner. Get that sawbones down here on the double!

That's not too bad, Captain.

You can thank Aherne if there's any of us left.

Go ahead, Aherne.

Why don't you gloat?

Now you can be a great big hero.

A man who feels hatred, Vaugant, isn't looking for glory.

(Gun cocks)

Well, a man like me can hate enough

To wanna see you dead.

(Dramatic theme playing)

Liable to hang me for this.

(Gunshot)

If I live that long.

Your fella's mighty interested in those smoke signals

Over that mountain peak.

SOLDIER 1: Company, halt!

SOLDIER 2: Company, halt!

Those are Crow signals.

(Speaking in French)

Huh?

My French isn't so good.

They're just signaling news of the battle.

Telling those who escaped to return home.

See if you can get any more out of there, huh?

Company! Forward!

SOLDIER: Forward!

I have not told the white leader

I understand French.

I haven't said I understand the word Crow

When spoken in English.

You do well not to tell.

You do well to still be alive.

I have not spoken.

But my mind asks an answer.

It asks why you fight by the side of soldiers.

And now from the hills,

Signals call you to meeting with the Sioux.

A knife will find your throat,

Before you can ask this question

Of the white leader.

I have not asked.

But now I ask.

How will you repay for my silence?

Will I and my people be given our freedom and our lives?

Will you and your people return to your homes

And never come back to the land of the Sioux?

I agree.

In the late darkness, I will release you.

Find out anything?

No. Take him up with the others.

Come on. Come on.

(Suspenseful theme playing)

The knife.

You do not permit us this one weapon?

It is a long march south.

Weapons will not help Crows in the land of the Sioux.

The knife.

Perhaps we'll meet again.

I am War Bonnet, son of Yellow Eagle,

Who will not have to remember too long

That he was forced to let a Crow live.

(Suspenseful theme playing)

(James cooing)

(James continues cooing)

You have done well, my son.

You know about the battle?

Our scouts watched.

Good to hear that the thieving Crows were destroyed.

The soldiers suffered many losses.

Not as many as they will tomorrow.

Not one will escape our ambush.

I know it's not easy, my son.

You're fresh from fighting side by side

With these soldiers.

Tomorrow you must turn your weapons against them.

They have big guns.

They were not harmed in the battle.

No? After we take them,

You will show our braves how to make them shoot.

We will easily take the fort with those big guns.

There will be scalps enough for all.

Our plan is good.

We've talked it through in council.

While White Thunder's Oglalas attack beyond the great river,

We will march against Fort Duane.

No one must escape to carry word of our victories

To the other forts.

The women and children will be taken prisoners.

We take no prisoners. We are not Crows.

We do not kill women and children.

Was not Luta a woman?

We cannot take prisoners.

We do not stop with Fort Duane. We move on to new battles.

To the forts in the south.

That is your order?

To kill women and children?

Since the day when you spoke words

Over the grave of your father,

Since that day when I took you for my son,

I've understood the hate you bear the Crows.

I've understood it, and I've shared it

In my heart and my lance.

Now I ask you to understand.

I ask you to share the hate I bear those

Who've killed my child.

It will be as you ask.

It is a long way back to the soldier's camp.

We better talk quickly of where and when you will attack.

In Moon Pass.

A half day's journey from here.

We'll wait until you lead the enemy well inside the pass

Before we attack.

Oh, Lieutenant. They must have gone that way.

Found this down below on the rocks.

OFFICER: Call in the rest of the men.

SOLDIER 1: Yes, sir. SOLDIER 2: They all got away.

SOLDIER 3: Yeah, they cut themselves loose.

The lieutenant found the pieces of rope.

Mr. Aherne, Lieutenant wants you.

The prisoners escaped, every last one of them.

Oh, Jim.

You didn't do a very good job of searching them.

They got a knife or two.

Lucky, they didn't take a few scalps before they left.

We can track them down, Lieutenant.

Aherne and me can find them, can't we?

I'm afraid they'd be a long ways off by now.

Forget it. We've gotta get our wounded back to the fort.

Get the men started on breakfast, Sergeant.

Yes, sir.

I got some good coffee on the fire for us, Aherne.

Looks like you're stuck with the corporal, Jim.

From now on, you'll be finding him close by.

Old-time soldiers like Martin have a knack

For picking partners they can trust.

You know, one thing I don't wanna miss,

Corporal and Tally are liable to have trouble

Dividing you up.

And Tally isn't the kind of girl

That'll let you spend much time with anyone else.

SOLDIER: Lieutenant.

SOLDIER: Ho.

Sergeant Cumming, sir, 5th Cavalry, Fort Holland.

What are you doing this far south?

Sir, I have orders to escort these civilians

To Fort Duane for protection.

Fort Holland's under attack by the Sioux Chief White Thunder.

Well...

All right, Sergeant. Give your folks a stretch.

Anyone's hungry, breakfast is ready.

Thank you, sir. Dismount, men.

All right, everybody, stretch and breakfast.

(Indistinct chattering)

(Upbeat theme playing)

Mister Scout, here's some cookies.

Thank you.

Aren't you coming?

What have you got there?

Cookies. One of the ladies...

Don't mind if I do.

Where you from, Aherne? I mean, originally.

Virginia.

Well, these are pretty good. Whereabouts in Virginia?

Near Richmond.

I hear they built that place up nice and pretty since the war.

I started soldiering in that one under Grant.

You must have been pretty little

When we rode through your part of the country.

Do you remember any of it? Some.

Shooting, burning.

Burning is right.

Burned out a lot of good crops,

Burned out a lot of nice houses.

You know, wars don't make sense.

You burn, you kill,

Then come peace, you have to rebuild what you burn.

Take it away.

Even this kind of a campaign don't make good sense.

You mean the Army's wrong?

Well, about half and half, my way of figurin'.

We ain't got the right to push these Indians onto reservations.

But they ain't got the right to claim all this land either.

They gotta move over

And give the next fellow a little room.

They won't move over.

That's the general trouble with people.

They won't give elbow room.

We won't budge, they won't either.

So the Army's gotta do some pushing

With bullets and bayonets.

No matter how many forts the Sioux attack and burn,

They can't win an all-out shoving contest.

They can't do it. We got the most men.

The most ammunition, the most know-how.

We're bound to win in the long run.

Simple arithmetic.

Yeah, I guess it is.

Trouble is, though, a lot of people,

Indians and us too,

Gonna get themselves killed.

Hey, mister, how much further to the fort?

We'll be there soon after sundown, sonny.

Kids like that are gonna see things

They shouldn't have to see.

Maybe even get themselves butchered.

(Ominous theme playing)

(Suspenseful theme playing)

There is yet time.

Even better than I, you know the wisdom of battle.

But is this wisdom? You have braves to spare.

Why do you refuse to place some along the lower trail?

You do not speak to me of wisdom.

You tell me you do not trust my son.

But I only ask... Why do you still question?

Your aging eyes can see farther than your doubting mind.

You will see War Bonnet bringing the enemy to us.

(Suspenseful theme playing)

LONG MANE: All is well, Yellow Eagle.

Yes. And my son brings them.

Prepare to attack.

Now! Hyah!

(Dramatic theme playing)

Attack! Attack!

(Shouting indistinctly)

SOLDIER: Hey, guard, here.

(Sioux Indians shouting indistinctly)

SOLDIER: Hey, Aherne's hit.

WESTON: Quick, break that arrow.

Get him on his horse.

(Sioux Indians shouting indistinctly)

"Is it the pigment of man's skin which makes him a Miniconjou,

"Member of the mighty Sioux?

"No, it is the throbbing inside which tells him

How great is the love he has for his father."

These were the lying words he spoke at the great council.

With the lying smoothness of the white man.

We attack Fort Duane!

(Indistinctly shouting)

(Suspenseful theme playing)

(Horse snorts)

Hello, sis. He's in the third wagon.

Now, don't worry, it's not a bad wound.

Frank, get a stretcher. Yeah.

He's all right, miss. He lost some blood.

Once the doc gets that hunk of arrow out of his arm,

All he'll need's a lot of red beef, good strong beef.

Nothing like beef and tea for growing the blood.

No reason he won't be up and around pretty soon.

You did a nice job with your tourniquet, Corporal.

Seems like I've been putting tourniquets on the soldiers

All the way from Bull Run to here.

More than 20 years of it.

They tell me Aherne saved the outfit from ambush.

Yes, sir.

What is it? Some sixth sense?

How could he spot the ambush a half mile up that pass?

Well, he's the best Indian scout I ever ran into.

Sioux arrowhead, isn't it?

Yes, sir. Tough people.

They won't push around very easy.

Afraid not.

When he comes to,

Tell him Colonel Ellis wants to talk to him.

Yes, Doctor.

I'll wait in the other room, if you need me.

(Door closes)

(Melancholic theme playing)

Jim. Jim.

You're home, Jim.

You're home.

What happened at Moon Pass?

Well, if it hadn't been for Aherne,

Not one of us should be back here at the fort tonight, miss.

And that's gospel.

You think a lot of him, don't you?

So do I.

That's why because you like him,

You're trying to talk around what you're thinking.

I'll have to ask him.

I've got to know how he knew that ambush was there.

No matter what happened or how it happened,

He led you out of it.

I've got to know.

Were them Sioux waiting there by appointment?

Are you going to say anything to Colonel Ellis?

There's over 20 years of army training,

Army thinking, and loyalty behind me, miss.

You don't boot a mess of years like that out the window.

You just don't.

At least you'll talk to Jim first.

Won't you?

Yeah.

I won't put the smell of renegade on him

Without being sure.

Or without telling him that's what I was gonna do.

(Military bugle playing)

MAN: What now? Come on, snap it up. Come on.

(Men indistinctly shouting)

SERGEANT: Hurry up, now! What's happening, Sergeant?

The Sioux are out there, ma'am. You better keep inside.

SERGEANT: Come on. Snap it up! Excuse me, miss.

SERGEANT: You're always the last one.

I want the area outside well lighted.

Just in case they forget their superstition

And make a night attack. Yes, sir.

Stanley, keep the Howitzers in the center of the parade ground,

So they'll be in easy position to maneuver.

Yes, sir.

Please dim your lights, Miss Hathersall.

Only one light permitted. Certainly.

SERGEANT: On the double!

(Indistinct shouting)

(Men indistinctly speaking)

SERGEANT: Come on! Pull it!

Ho, he comes.

The friend of our enemy comes.

(Indistinct shouting)

SIOUX INDIAN: Kill him! Throw him!

(Indistinct shouting continues)

Give the white man a lance.

What is to be done, I will do.

I ask a moment to be heard.

Hear me.

To all my people.

I confess my shame for having warmed you at my fire.

I do not ask for sympathy or a pardon for myself.

I am here to stop you from destroying yourselves.

I call you traitor. I call you coward.

Listen to me.

Inside that fort are big guns.

Their cannon will kill most of you before you reach the wall.

Because of the traitor,

The big guns are pointed this way.

You're right, I did this.

Today, I could not destroy the soldiers,

The women and children in the wagons.

Now, I cannot let you or you,

You, Long Mane,

You, my mother,

My father, I cannot let you destroy yourselves.

The white man can forget

How his white brothers killed my child.

No, I do not forget.

I will never forget.

But I have learned much.

My heart no longer quickly grows hot with anger.

My head tells me to wait, think,

And remember these things I have learned.

From your white brothers?

Yes.

My sister, Luta, was killed by white men.

But all whites are not killers.

I have lived among them. I fought at their sides.

I know this is true.

Running Dog killed and lied and stole.

Are all Sioux killers, liars, thieves? It cannot be so.

These are things I have learned and I believe.

Even that there are good and evil among Crows.

How long must we listen to the lying words of a traitor?

MAN: Let the white man take his turn with the lance.

ALL: Yeah.

If the duel is not to the liking

Of the chief of the Miniconjou,

Let another take his place.

ALL: I will.

It is for me to do.

I say this final thing.

No matter how many fort you burn,

No matter how many scalps you take,

The end of the war is plain to see.

More soldiers will come.

More guns, as many as there are stars in the heavens.

For every soldier you kill, ten will come.

And they too will kill.

We Miniconjou do not have ten for one.

The once proud name Miniconjou will become a forgotten name,

Because its people were too proud to sit down

And counsel with the soldiers.

The white man has spoken. Now let him fight.

(Indistinct chattering)

I refuse my turn with the lance.

Remember, Yellow Eagle, you have said it many times.

He who has lived without honor must die without honor.

It is the law of our people.

(Ominous theme playing)

The law of the Miniconjou has been carried out.

The white man still lives.

I say it is the wish of the Great Spirit

That he live.

He will live.

Hear me, Iron Breast.

I am chief of the Miniconjou.

I say I have taken my turn with the lance

And carried out the law of our tribe.

Now I say return to your fires.

(Melancholic theme playing)

Why did he force me to do this?

Why did he return?

Has he not told you why so many times?

Has he not told you the love he feels in his heart

For you, his father?

Has he not shown you this love all these years?

I had to do this.

If I had not, it would long be said

There are laws for all,

Except the chief of the Miniconjou.

You know this is so, Pehangi.

I only know he is my son,

That he came to speak truth and wisdom to protect us,

And that his father spilled his blood.

I did not throw the lance to kill. He will live.

I pray he will live.

(Dramatic theme playing)

A whole flock of Indians out there, sir.

SOLDIER: Some of them coming this way.

There's a woman on one of those horses, Colonel.

Hold all fire.

Hold your fire.

SOLDIER: Hold your fire.

There's somebody in that travois.

I think it's Aherne, sir.

TALLY: May I look, please? SOLDIER: Sure, ma'am.

It is.

Get a detail ready to ride out.

Tell them to be careful. This may be a trick.

Yes, sir.

WESTON: Corporal Martin.

Corporal Martin. MARTIN: Yes!

Get a detail ready to ride out. Yes, sir.

Freed, Will.

We part now.

Remember that we, Sioux,

Are but a small number in this great river of whites.

Make a place for yourself and for us among the white men.

This is the only way

We will not be swallowed up in this great river.

It will be done.

There are men of understanding among the soldiers.

They will help me return so that I can serve my people.

I want to believe this.

Oh, husband of little faith.

If you love him, you must not doubt him.

I know sometimes there is a great separation

Between father and son.

Like the empty space between two mountaintops.

But I also know there is love between us.

While this love lives,

The empty space grows very small.

Even the silence in these moons

I will be away, it will not count.

We will have this love.

Grow well, my son.

Grow well.

And you my parents, keep well.

I will return.

(Dramatic theme playing)

Are you all right, Aherne? I'm all right.

Hey, don't tell me them Sioux are running away.

No, they're not running away.

Just moving over to give the other fellow

A little elbow room.

All right, Holmes, let's go nice and easy.

(Upbeat theme playing)

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