All language subtitles for West, The - S01E05 - Ken Burns - 1996

[ RINGING ]

[ STEAM HISSING ]

[ WHISTLE BLOWS ]

I SEE OVER MY OWN CONTINENT

THE PACIFIC RAILROAD
SURMOUNTING EVERY BARRIER.

I SEE CONTINUAL TRAINS OF CARS
WINDING ALONG THE PLATTE,

CARRYING FREIGHT
AND PASSENGERS.

I HEAR THE LOCOMOTIVES
RUSHING AND ROARING,

AND THE SHRILL STEAM WHISTLE.

I HEAR THE ECHOES REVERBERATE

THROUGH THE GRANDEST SCENERY
IN THE WORLD.

LO SOUL, SEEST THOU NOT
GOD'S PURPOSE FROM THE FIRST?

THE EARTH TO BE SPANNED,
CONNECTED BY NETWORKS.

THE LANDS TO BE WELDED
TOGETHER --

WALT WHITMAN.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

[ EAGLE CRIES ]

[ DRUM BEATS,
CHANTING CONTINUES ]

[ MORE VOICES ADDED
TO CHANTING ]

Narrator: IT HAD TAKEN
THE BLOODSHED AND SACRIFICE

OF THE CIVIL WAR TO REUNITE
THE NATION, NORTH AND SOUTH.

BUT WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER,

AMERICANS SET OUT
WITH EQUAL DETERMINATION

TO UNITE THE NATION,
EAST AND WEST.

TO DO IT, THEY WOULD
BUILD A RAILROAD.

ITS COMPLETION WOULD BE
ONE OF THE GREATEST

TECHNOLOGICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
OF THE AGE --

SIGNALLING AT LAST,
AS NOTHING ELSE EVER HAD,

THAT THE UNITED STATES WAS
NOT ONLY A CONTINENTAL NATION,

BUT ON ITS WAY TO BECOMING
A WORLD POWER.

AND WHEN THE RAILROAD WAS
FINALLY BUILT,

THE PACE OF CHANGE WOULD SHIFT

FROM THE STEADY GAIT
OF A TEAM OF OXEN

TO THE POWERFUL SURGE
OF A STEAM LOCOMOTIVE.

THE WEST WOULD BE TRANSFORMED.

OVERNIGHT, THE RAILROAD WOULD
TURN BARREN SPOTS OF EARTH

INTO RAUCOUS BOOM TOWNS --
NORTH PLATTE AND JULESBURG,

ABILENE, BEAR RIVER, WICHITA
AND DODGE.

THE RAILROAD WOULD ALLOW
CIVIL WAR VETERANS,

POOR FARMERS FROM THE EAST AND
LANDLESS PEASANTS FROM EUROPE

TO HAVE A FARM THEY COULD
CALL THEIR OWN.

THERE THEY PLANTED
FOREIGN STRAINS OF WHEAT

IN RICH, MATTED PRAIRIE SOIL

THAT HAD NEVER KNOWN ANYTHING
BUT GRASS.

RAILROADS WOULD CARRY
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS

OF WESTERN LONGHORNS
TO EASTERN MARKETS,

AND TURN THE DUSTY,
SADDLE-SORE MEN WHO HERDED THEM

INTO THE IDOLS
OF EVERY EASTERN SCHOOLBOY.

[ HORSE NEIGHS ]

AND RAILROADS WOULD BRING
ONTO THE GREAT PLAINS

THE BUFFALO HUNTERS --

WHO WOULD DRIVE A MAGNIFICENT
ANIMAL THAT SYMBOLIZED THE WEST

TO THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION,

AND WITH IT A WAY OF LIFE

WITH ROOTS REACHING BACK
BEFORE RECORDED HISTORY.

THE RAILROAD WOULD DO
ALL OF THAT,

BUT FIRST,
SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TO BUILD IT.

[ DOG BARKS ]

THE GREAT PACIFIC RAILWAY
IS COMMENCED.

IMMIGRATION WILL SOON POUR
INTO THESE VALLEYS,

TEN MILLION EMIGRANTS WILL
SETTLE IN THIS GOLDEN LAND

IN TWENTY YEARS.

THIS IS THE GRANDEST ENTERPRISE
UNDER GOD --

GEORGE FRANCIS TRAIN.

Narrator: RAILROADS HAD ALREADY
TRANSFORMED LIFE IN THE EAST,

BUT AT THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR,

THEY STILL STOPPED
AT THE MISSOURI RIVER.

FOR A QUARTER OF A CENTURY,

MEN HAD DREAMED OF BUILDING
A LINE FROM COAST TO COAST.

NOW THEY WOULD ATTEMPT IT --

1,775 MILES OF TRACK
FROM OMAHA TO SACRAMENTO.

IT WOULD HAVE TO BE
CUT THROUGH MOUNTAINS

HIGHER THAN ANY RAILROAD BUILDER
HAD EVER FACED,

SPAN DESERTS WHERE THERE WAS
NO WATER ANYWHERE,

AND CROSS TREELESS PRAIRIES

WHERE ANXIOUS
AND DEFIANT INDIANS

WOULD RESIST THEIR PASSAGE.

THEY KNEW FROM THE START
THAT IF IT COULD BE COMPLETED,

AMERICANS WOULD HAVE
ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING

NO OTHER PEOPLE HAD EVER
EVEN ATTEMPTED.

IN THE RIPENESS OF TIME

THE HOPE OF HUMANITY
IS REALIZED.

THIS CONTINENTAL RAILWAY
WILL BIND THE TWO SEABOARDS

TO THIS ONE CONTINENTAL UNION,
LIKE EARS TO THE HUMAN HEAD,

TO PLANT THE FOUNDATIONS
OF THE UNION SO BROAD AND DEEP

THAT NO POSSIBLE FORCE
OR STRATAGEM

CAN SHAKE ITS PERMANENCE --

WILLIAM GILPIN.

Narrator: THE WEST COULDN'T
BE SETTLED WITHOUT RAILROADS,

AND A RAILROAD ACROSS THE WEST

COULDN'T BE BUILT
WITHOUT THE GOVERNMENT.

THE DISTANCES WERE TOO GREAT,
THE COSTS TOO STAGGERING,

THE RISKS TOO HIGH
FOR ANY GROUP OF BUSINESSMEN.

IT WAS ONLY THROUGH
THE GOVERNMENT'S HELP

THAT ANYTHING OF THIS GARGANTUAN
SIZE COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED,

MUCH AS LANDING ON THE MOON.

IT WAS NOT RUGGED INDIVIDUALISTS
WHO BUILT THE RAILROAD,

IT WAS RUGGED CORPORATIONS

WHO FORMED AND FINANCED
THEMSELVES AS ENTITIES.

IT WAS THE RUGGED
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

THAT CAME UP WITH THE FEDERAL
LOANS AND THE LAND GRANTS

THAT ENABLED IT TO BE BUILT.

AMID ALL THE ROMANCE
OF THE BUILDING OF THE RAILROAD,

WE TEND TO FORGET THAT IT WAS

ONE OF THE MAJOR INDUSTRIAL
ENTERPRISES OF ITS AGE.

Narrator: IN 1862,
CONGRESS GAVE CHARTERS

TO TWO COMPANIES TO BUILD IT.

THE CENTRAL PACIFIC WAS TO PUSH
EASTWARD FROM SACRAMENTO

OVER THE SIERRA NEVADA
MOUNTAINS.

THE UNION PACIFIC WAS TO START
FROM THE MISSOURI,

CROSS THE GREAT PLAINS
AND CUT THROUGH THE ROCKIES.

BOTH COMPANIES WERE TO RECEIVE
VAST LOANS FROM THE TREASURY

AS THEY WENT ALONG --

$16,000 PER MILE OF LEVEL TRACK,

$32,000 IN THE PLATEAUS,
AND $48,000 IN THE MOUNTAINS.

LOBBYISTS GOT THE RATES DOUBLED
WITHIN A YEAR.

LELAND STANFORD,
GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA

AND PRESIDENT OF THE
CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD,

PERSUADED A MALLEABLE GEOLOGIST,
PROFESSOR JOSIAH WHITNEY,

TO DECLARE THE GENTLY SLOPING
SACRAMENTO VALLEY

A MOUNTAINOUS REGION,

SO THAT THE CENTRAL PACIFIC

COULD COLLECT
THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE RATE

FOR LAYING TRACK ACROSS IT.

A GRATEFUL CALIFORNIA
LEGISLATURE LATER NAMED

ITS HIGHEST PEAK "MOUNT WHITNEY"
IN THE PROFESSOR'S HONOR.

CONGRESS ALSO PROMISED
EACH COMPANY

6,400 ACRES OF FEDERAL LAND
FOR EVERY MILE OF TRACK IT LAID.

Man: THE RAILROADS GOT
THE RIGHT OF WAY

AND ALONG THE RIGHT OF WAY

MILES AND MILES OF WHAT WAS THEN
THE GOVERNMENT'S LAND.

WHEN YOU ADDED IT ALL TOGETHER
IT WAS A GIFT OF ROUGHLY

THE SIZE OF CALIFORNIA
PLUS MOST OF MONTANA.

IT WAS INCREDIBLE.

Narrator: THE UNION PACIFIC
AND CENTRAL PACIFIC

WERE SOON LOCKED IN A RACE

TO SEE WHO COULD
LAY THE MOST TRACK --

AND THEREFORE GET THE MOST
LAND AND MONEY.

SOMEWHERE IN THE WEST --
NO ONE KNEW EXACTLY WHERE --

THE TWO LINES
WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET.

IT IS A GRAND ANVIL CHORUS

THAT THESE STURDY SLEDGES
ARE PLAYING ACROSS THE PLAINS.

IT IS IN TRIPLE TIME,
THREE STROKES TO A SPIKE.

TWENTY-ONE MILLION TIMES
ARE THEY TO COME DOWN

WITH THEIR SHARP PUNCTUATION

BEFORE THE GREAT WORK OF
MODERN AMERICA IS COMPLETE --

DR. WILLIAM A. BELL.

Narrator: IN NEBRASKA,
SOME 10,000 MEN WERE AT WORK

ON THE UNION PACIFIC
HEADING WEST.

MOST WERE IMMIGRANTS
FROM IRELAND,

BUT THERE WERE ALSO
MEXICANS AND GERMANS,

ENGLISHMEN, EX-SOLDIERS
AND FORMER SLAVES --

AN ARMY OF WORKMEN
MOVING ACROSS THE PLAINS

WITH MILITARY PRECISION.

THERE WAS NO TIME FOR REST.

A 20-CAR WORK TRAIN HOUSED AND
FED THE MEN WHO ROSE AT DAWN.

A SUPPLY TRAIN CARRIED
EVERYTHING NEEDED THAT DAY --

RAILS, TIES, SPIKES, RODS --

ALL OF WHICH HAD TO BE LOADED
ONTO FLATCARS

AND RUN UP TO THE RAILHEAD

WHERE THE "IRON MEN"
WERE ALREADY WAITING.

EACH RAIL WEIGHED 700 POUNDS.

IT TOOK FIVE MEN
TO LIFT IT INTO PLACE.

TWO OR THREE MILES A DAY.

EVERY DAY.
SIX DAYS A WEEK.

WEEK IN AND WEEK OUT.

AS THE UNION PACIFIC CREWS

WORKED THEIR WAY WESTWARD
ACROSS THE PRAIRIE,

HUNDREDS OF PROSTITUTES, PIMPS,
GAMBLERS, SALOONKEEPERS,

GUNMEN FOLLOWED RIGHT BEHIND --

"A CARNIVOROUS HORDE,"
ONE MAN RECALLED,

"HUNGRIER THAN THE NATIVE
GRASSHOPPERS,"

AND EAGER TO DEVOUR
THE MEN'S WEEKLY PAY.

JULESBURG, AUGUST 23, 1867 --

GAMBLING WAS CARRIED
ON EXTENSIVELY,

AND THE SALOONS WERE FULL.

MOSTLY EVERY ONE SEEMED BENT
ON DEBAUCHERY AND DISSIPATION.

THERE APPEARS TO BE PLENTY
OF MONEY HERE,

AND PLENTY OF FOOLS
TO SQUANDER IT.

I VERILY BELIEVE THAT THERE
ARE MEN HERE WHO WOULD

MURDER A FELLOW CREATURE
FOR FIVE DOLLARS --

HENRY MORTON STANLEY.

Narrator: THE SUCCESSION OF BASE
CAMPS THE UNION PACIFIC BUILT,

ROUGHLY 70 MILES APART,

ALL HAD DIFFERENT NAMES --

ELK HORN, FREMONT, OGLALLA,

LARAMIE, GREEN RIVER,
AND CHEYENNE.

Watkins: SAY YOU'RE IN WYOMING,

SAY YOU'RE AT CITADEL ROCK
ON THE GREEN RIVER IN WYOMING

AND YOU'RE LOOKING INTO THE
DISTANCE AND THERE'S NOTHING,

AND BEHIND YOU THERE IS TRACK
GOING ALL THE WAY TO OMAHA.

THE DONKEY ENGINES COMING IN
AND GETTING OUT,

HAULING IN MATERIALS,
THE CLATTER AND THE BUSTLE

AND THE WORK AROUND YOU
AT ALL TIMES,

THE CLANGING OF THE
SLEDGEHAMMERS ON THE RAILS

ECHOING IN THE WILDERNESS

THAT HAD NEVER KNOWN
ANYTHING LIKE THIS, EVER.

THE SOUNDS OF THE LOCOMOTIVES
BELCHING SMOKE

INTO A PREVIOUSLY PRISTINE SKY.

THERE HAD NEVER BEEN A SOUND
LIKE THIS EVER BEFORE.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

EVERYTHING THE KIOWAS HAD
CAME FROM THE BUFFALO.

THEIR TEPEES WERE MADE
OF BUFFALO HIDES,

SO WERE THEIR CLOTHES
AND MOCASSINS.

THEY ATE BUFFALO MEAT.

THEIR CONTAINERS
WERE MADE OF HIDE,

OR OF BLADDERS OR STOMACHS.

MOST OF ALL, THE BUFFALO WAS
PART OF THE KIOWA RELIGION.

THE BUFFALO WERE THE LIFE
OF THE KIOWAS --

OLD LADY HORSE.

[ CHANTING CONTINUES ]

Narrator: OF ALL THE WEST'S
NATURAL WONDERS,

NONE SURPASSED THE HUGE HERDS
OF BUFFALO

THAT BLANKETED THE PLAINS --

PERHAPS ONCE AS MANY
AS 30 MILLION OF THEM.

THEY HAD FRIGHTENED CORONADO'S
HORSES BY THEIR SMELL,

AND ASTONISHED LEWIS AND CLARK
BY THEIR SHEER NUMBERS.

ONE WAGON TRAIN OF PIONEERS
WAS BLOCKED FOR HOURS

BY A HERD THREE MILES WIDE
AND TEN MILES LONG.

BUT FOR THE NATIVE PEOPLES
OF THE PLAINS,

THEY REPRESENTED
EXISTENCE ITSELF.

Man: THE BUFFALO, WHICH WAS

THE ANIMAL REPRESENTATION
OF THE SUN,

WAS THE SACRIFICIAL VICTIM
OF THE SUN DANCE.

THE SUN DANCE WAS
A GREAT CELEBRATION,

A GREAT SOCIAL OCCASION,

AND THE SUN DANCERS WERE
EXPRESSING THEIR SPIRIT

IN ORDER TO GAIN CERTAIN POWER.

THEY WANTED TO BE
VICTORIOUS IN WAR.

THEY WANTED TO GIVE THANKS
FOR SOMETHING GOOD

THAT HAD COME TO THEM.

A BUFFALO BULL IS SACRIFICED,
AND ITS HEAD IS IMPALED

IN THE SUN DANCE LODGE
OR NEAR IT.

AND IT'S PART OF THE RITUAL --

YOU CAN'T HAVE A SUN DANCE
WITHOUT THE BUFFALO.

Narrator: BY THE LATE 1860s,

THEIR NUMBERS HAD
ALREADY DECLINED ---

REDUCED BY DISEASE,
COMPETITION FROM HORSE HERDS,

AND BY THE BUFFALO ROBE TRADE

THAT ENCOURAGED
SOME INDIAN BANDS

TO KILL MORE THAN THEY NEEDED.

AND NOW THE UNION PACIFIC
HIRED MEN TO HUNT BUFFALO

TO FEED THE HUNGRY
RAILROAD CREWS

AS THEY BUILT THEIR IRON ROAD
ACROSS INDIAN LANDS.

WE SAW THE FIRST TRAIN OF CARS

THAT ANY OF US HAD SEEN.

WE LOOKED AT IT
FROM A HIGH RIDGE.

FAR OFF IT WAS VERY SMALL,

BUT IT KEPT COMING AND GROWING
LARGER ALL THE TIME,

PUFFING OUT SMOKE AND STEAM.

AND AS IT CAME ON,
WE SAID TO EACH OTHER THAT IT

LOOKED LIKE A WHITE MAN'S
PIPE WHEN HE WAS SMOKING --

PORCUPINE.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

Narrator: THE CHEYENNE
AND ARAPAHO AND LAKOTA

RESENTED THE RAILROAD'S
INTRUSION.

THEY DE-RAILED TRAINS,
RANSACKED FREIGHT CARS,

FIRED ON SURVEYING CREWS.

THE UNION PACIFIC
FELL BEHIND SCHEDULE.

ON JUNE 26, 1867,

AN ARMY DETAIL WAS OVERTAKEN
BY A WAR PARTY.

ONE OF THOSE KILLED WAS
FREDERICK WYLLYAMS

WHO HAD COME ALL THE WAY FROM
ENGLAND IN SEARCH OF ADVENTURE.

ANOTHER ENGLISHMAN,
AN AMATEUR ETHNOLOGIST,

PHOTOGRAPHED
HIS COUNTRYMAN'S CORPSE.

THE MUSCLES OF THE RIGHT ARM,
HACKED TO THE BONE,

SPEAK OF THE CHEYENNES,
OR "CUT ARMS."

THE NOSE SLIT DENOTED THE
"SMELLER TRIBE," OR ARAPAHO,

AND THE THROAT CUT
BEARS WITNESS

THAT THE SIOUX
WERE ALSO PRESENT.

IT WAS EVIDENT, FROM THE NUMBER
OF DIFFERENT DEVICES,

THAT WARRIORS
FROM SEVERAL TRIBES

HAD EACH PURPOSELY LEFT ONE
IN THE DEAD MAN'S BODY --

DR. WILLIAM A. BELL.

Narrator: FINALLY, 5,000 TROOPS
WERE SENT WEST

TO PROVIDE THE RAILROAD WORKERS
WITH PROTECTION.

THE CREWS WENT BACK TO WORK.

[ GUNSHOT ]

WHILE THE UNION PACIFIC
MOVED WEST AGAIN

ACROSS THE GREAT PLAINS,

IN CALIFORNIA THE CENTRAL
PACIFIC, AFTER A FAST START,

HAD GOTTEN STUCK
IN THE SIERRA NEVADAS.

THE MOUNTAINS SEEMED
IMPENETRABLE,

AND TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE,

CHARLES CROCKER, WHOSE JOB
IT WAS TO BREAK THROUGH THEM,

COULD NOT SEEM TO HOLD ON
TO HIS WORKERS.

THREE OUT OF FIVE STUCK WITH HIM
JUST LONG ENOUGH

TO GET A FREE RIDE
TO THE RAILHEAD,

THEN SET OUT ON THEIR OWN
FOR THE NEVADA GOLD FIELDS.

HIS PLANS CALLED
FOR A WORK FORCE OF 5,000.

HE HAD FEWER THAN 600.

DESPERATE, HE SUGGESTED TO HIS
SUPERINTENDENT OF CONSTRUCTION,

JAMES STROBRIDGE,
THAT HE TRY THE CHINESE

WHO WERE EKING OUT A LIVING

WORKING THE GOLD AND SILVER
TAILINGS ABANDONED BY OTHERS.

STROBRIDGE WAS AGAINST IT --

HE THOUGHT THE CHINESE
WERE TOO SMALL, TOO FRAIL.

THEY HAD NO EXPERIENCE
BUILDING RAILROADS.

CROCKER TOLD STROBRIDGE
TO GIVE THE CHINESE A CHANCE.

"AFTER ALL," HE SAID, "THEY HAD
BUILT THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA."

THE FIRST CHINESE BEGAN TURNING
UP IN EARLY 1865,

EAGER TO WORK.

THEY WERE ALREADY ORGANIZED
INTO WORK GANGS,

EACH WITH ITS OWN HEADMAN.

Man: CROCKER EXPECTED THAT THESE
FELLOWS WOULD COME UP THERE

IN ONES AND TWOS
LIKE THE OTHER NATIONALITIES,

AND HE FOUND THAT THE CHINESE
SORT OF MARCHED UP THERE

AS ONE GROUP
AND ALL HE HAD TO DO

WAS TO DEAL WITH
THE FOREMAN OF THAT GROUP.

OF COURSE, HE WOULD BE
THE CLAN LEADER.

Narrator: BEFORE LONG,
11,000 CHINESE WERE AT WORK

ON THE CENTRAL PACIFIC,

AND CROCKER WAS ADVERTISING
FOR MORE IN CHINA.

[ EXPLOSION ]

BUT HARD WORK ALONE WAS NO MATCH
FOR THE SIERRA NEVADAS.

STROBRIDGE WORRIED
THAT HIS CENTRAL PACIFIC

WAS FALLING EVEN FURTHER BEHIND

IN THEIR RACE
WITH THE UNION PACIFIC,

AND SOON ARMED THE CHINESE
WITH BLACK POWDER

TO BLAST THEIR WAY THROUGH.

[ EXPLOSION ]

IT TOOK 500 KEGS OF IT A DAY,
WEEK AFTER WEEK,

TO CARVE CUTS
THROUGH THE FOOTHILLS.

AND THEN THEY CAME UP AGAINST
A FACE THEY CALLED CAPE HORN --

SOLID ROCK,
NEARLY STRAIGHT UP AND DOWN,

2,000 FEET ABOVE A RAGING RIVER.

THERE WERE NO FOOTHOLDS,

BUT THE CHINESE WERE TOLD
TO MAKE A LEDGE IN THE CLIFF

WIDE ENOUGH FOR A TRAIN.

Woman: MY GRANDFATHER
WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE

THAT THEY PUT IN THE BASKETS
BECAUSE HE WAS SMALL AND LIGHT,

AND WHAT THEY DID WAS --

THEY WOULD BE LOWERED
OVER CLIFFS

AND THEY WOULD DRILL HOLES,

AND THEN THEY'D SET
THE DYNAMITE IN THEM.

AND THEN THEY'D LIGHT
THE DYNAMITE,

AND THEN THEY'D PULL THEM UP
BY THESE, UH, BY THE BASKETS.

AND THEN THEY HAD TO GET
OUT OF THERE

BEFORE THE DYNAMITE EXPLODED.

[ EXPLOSION ]

Man: HUGE MASSES
OF ROCK AND DEBRIS

WERE RENT AND HEAVED UP
IN THE COMMOTION.

THEN CAME THE THUNDERS
OF THE EXPLOSION

LIKE A LIGHTNING STROKE,

REVERBERATING ALONG THE HILLS
AND CANYONS,

AS IF THE WHOLE ARTILLERY
OF HEAVEN WAS IN PLAY.

[ EXPLOSION ]

Narrator:
BEFORE THE CENTRAL PACIFIC

COULD GET THROUGH THE SIERRAS,

THE CREWS HAD TO GOUGE OUT
15 TUNNELS.

[ EXPLOSION ]

THEY WORKED IN SHIFTS
AROUND THE CLOCK,

BUT AVERAGED
JUST EIGHT INCHES A DAY,

AND THEY HAD TO KEEP AT IT
IN EVERY KIND OF WEATHER.

SNOW STORMS, 44 IN NUMBER,
VARIED IN LENGTH

FROM A SHORT SNOW SQUALL
TO A TWO-WEEK GALE.

THE HEAVIEST STORM
OF THE WINTER,

BEGAN FEBRUARY 18th, AT 2 P.M.,

AND SNOWED STEADILY
UNTIL 10 P.M. OF THE 22nd,

DURING WHICH TIME
SIX FEET FELL --

JOHN R. GILLS.

Man: CHARLES CROCKER HAD
TO PUNCH THE LINE

THROUGH THE SIERRAS THAT WINTER,
THE WINTER OF '66,

AND THE CHINESE THEN HAD
TO BUILD THE RAILROAD,

LAY THE TRACKS.

SO THEY BUILT THESE TUNNELS
UNDER THE SNOW

TO KEEP ADVANCING THE LINE.

AND SOMETIMES THERE WOULD BE
SNOW SLIDES

AND ENTIRE CREWS OF CHINESE
WOULD BE TRAPPED

UNDER TONS OF SNOW,

AND THEIR BODIES WOULD BE
LEFT THERE

AND FOUND THE FOLLOWING SPRING.

SOMETIMES THE BODIES WERE FOUND

WITH THE PICKS AND THE SHOVELS
STILL IN THEIR HANDS.

Narrator: NO ONE KEPT
A PRECISE COUNT,

BUT MORE THAN 1,200 CHINESE
DIED DIGGING AND BLASTING

FOR CHARLES CROCKER
AND THE CENTRAL PACIFIC.

Chen: WHEN SOMEBODY DIED,

YOU JUST DIDN'T DIG
A GRAVE FOR HIM

AND PUT HIM DOWN IN THE GRAVE.

YOU WENT TO A LOT OF TROUBLE

TO GET HIS REMAINS BACK
TO THE VILLAGE THAT HE CAME FROM

BECAUSE A CHINESE DOESN'T WANT
TO BE BURIED ANYWHERE.

HE WANTS TO BE BURIED
WHERE HIS ANCESTORS WERE BURIED

BECAUSE HE WANTS
TO STICK TOGETHER.

Narrator: FINALLY, IN 1868,

AFTER THREE LONG YEARS OF
BACK-BREAKING, DANGEROUS LABOR,

THE CENTRAL PACIFIC CREWS
DID WHAT FEW HAD BELIEVED

ANYONE COULD DO --

THEY BROKE OUT
OF THE HIGH SIERRAS.

Man: JOHN CHINAMAN,
WITH HIS PATIENT TOIL,

DIRECTED BY AMERICAN ENERGY
AND BACKED BY AMERICAN CAPITAL,

HAS BROKEN DOWN
THE GREAT BARRIER AT LAST,

AND OPENED OVER IT THE GREATEST
HIGHWAY YET CREATED

FOR THE MARCH OF COMMERCE AND
CIVILIZATION

AROUND THE GLOBE --

"THE TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE."

Narrator: THE HARDEST PART
WAS BEHIND THEM.

THE CENTRAL PACIFIC
WAS BACK IN THE RACE.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING ]

Old Lady Horse: WE HIDATSAS
BELIEVE THAT "ONLY MAN"

AND "FIRST CREATOR"
SPLIT UP THE JOB OF CREATION.

THEY MADE THE RIVER AND
THE PLAINS AND THE BADLANDS.

TO POPULATE THEM, "FIRST
CREATOR" MADE THE BUFFALO.

BUT "ONLY MAN"
CREATED A WHITE MAN

AND THE SPOTTED COWS
THE WHITE MAN RAISED.

WHEN "FIRST CREATOR"
SAW WHAT "ONLY MAN" HAD DONE

HE SAID, "YOU ARE FOOLISH
TO MAKE THESE THINGS.

"THE WHITE MEN
ARE A QUEER KIND OF MEN,

AND THEY WILL
ALWAYS BE GREEDY."

"THAT IS SO," SAID ONLY MAN,

AND SO HE OPENED A HOLE
IN THE EARTH

AND SENT ALL THE SPOTTED COWS
DOWN UNDERGROUND.

"BUT WHEN THE BUFFALO
ARE ALL GONE," HE SAID,

"THE SPOTTED COWS
WILL COME AGAIN

AND COVER THIS EARTH
AS THE BUFFALOES DID."

[ CATTLE MOOING ]

ABOVE ALL THINGS, THE
PLAINSMAN HAD TO HAVE A SENSE,

AN INSTINCT FOR DIRECTION.

FEW MEN HAVE THIS INSTINCT.

YET IN THE FEW,
IT IS TO BE TRUSTED

AS ABSOLUTELY AS THE HOMING
INSTINCT OF A WILD GOOSE.

I NEVER HAD A COMPASS
IN MY LIFE.

I WAS NEVER LOST --

CHARLES GOODNIGHT.

Narrator: CHARLES GOODNIGHT
WAS USED TO TOUGH TIMES.

A DIRT FARMER'S SON,
HE HAD RIDDEN BAREBACK

ALL THE WAY FROM ILLINOIS
TO TEXAS AT THE AGE OF NINE,

AND HAD BEEN WORKING FULL TIME
TO SUPPORT HIS WIDOWED MOTHER

SINCE HE WAS 11.

AT 19, HE AND HIS BROTHER
WENT INTO THE CATTLE BUSINESS.

STILL TOO POOR
TO BUY THEIR OWN HERD,

THEY AGREED TO WATCH OVER
SOMEONE ELSE'S --

RECEIVING EVERY FOURTH CALF
AS PAY.

GOODNIGHT HAD MANAGED TO COLLECT
180 HEAD OF HIS OWN

BY THE TIME THE CIVIL WAR
BROKE OUT,

BUT HE LEFT HIS CATTLE
TO JOIN THE TEXAS RANGERS

AND FIGHT FOR THE CONFEDERACY.

WHEN HE RETURNED TO HIS RANCH
AT THE END OF THE WAR,

HE FOUND THE CATTLE BUSINESS
IN RUINS.

TEXAS HERDS
HAD MULTIPLIED WILDLY --

FROM THREE-AND-A-HALF MILLION
TO SIX MILLION --

SO MANY THAT BEEF PRICES
FELL TO NEARLY NOTHING.

Goodnight: IT LOOKED LIKE

EVERYTHING WORTH LIVING FOR
WAS GONE.

THE ENTIRE COUNTRY
WAS DEPRESSED.

THERE WAS NO HOPE.

Narrator: THE ONLY WAY
TO SURVIVE AS A CATTLEMAN,

GOODNIGHT DECIDED,

WAS TO TAKE HIS HERDS NORTH
TO BETTER MARKETS --

THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS,
COLORADO MINING CAMPS,

AND THE UNION PACIFIC
RAILROAD CREWS

NOW WORKING THEIR WAY
ACROSS WYOMING.

TO REACH THEM, HE AND
HIS PARTNER OLIVER LOVING,

WITH 18 COWBOYS
AND 2,000 CATTLE,

BLAZED A NEW TRAIL IN 1866.

AND WHENHE LONG DRIVE
WAS DONE,

THE PARTNERS CLEARED $24,000,

MORE THAN THEY HAD
EVER DREAMED OF GETTING.

THEY HURRIED BACK TO TEXAS
TO BUY MORE CATTLE,

THEN HEADED RIGHT BACK UP

THE NEWLY NAMED
GOODNIGHT-LOVING TRAIL,

BEFORE ANYONE ELSE
COULD BEAT THEM TO IT.

Goodnight: LOVING WAS
A MAN OF RELIGIOUS INSTINCTS

AND ONE OF THE COOLEST AND
BRAVEST MEN I HAVE EVER KNOWN,

BUT DEVOID OF CAUTION.

Narrator: LOVING PUSHED ON AHEAD

TO GET IN THE PARTNERS' BID
FOR NEW GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS.

BUT COMANCHES CAUGHT HIM
ON THE OPEN PLAIN,

SHOT HIM IN THE WRIST AND SIDE,
AND CHASED HIM TO A RIVERBANK,

WHERE HE HELD THEM OFF
FOR SEVERAL DAYS

BEFORE HE CRAWLED TO SAFETY
IN THE NIGHT.

HE WAS PICKED UP
BY A PASSING WAGON

AND TAKEN TO AN ARMY HOSPITAL,
BUT IT WAS TOO LATE TO SAVE HIM.

THE NIGHT LOVING DIED,

HE CALLED HIS PARTNER
TO HIS SIDE.

Goodnight: HIS MIND
TURNED BACK TO TEXAS,

AND AT LAST HE SAID,
"I REGRET TO HAVE TO BE

LAID AWAY IN A FOREIGN
COUNTRY."

I ASSURED HIM THAT HE NEED
HAVE NO FEARS --

THAT I WOULD SEE
THAT HIS REMAINS WERE LAID

IN THE CEMETERY AT HOME.

HE FELT THIS WOULD BE
IMPOSSIBLE,

BUT I TOLD HIM
IT WOULD BE DONE.

Narrator:
GOODNIGHT ORDERED HIS MEN

TO FASHION A TIN CASKET
OUT OF FLATTENED CANS.

THEY PUT LOVING'S
WOODEN COFFIN INSIDE,

COVERED IT WITH CHARCOAL,
SEALED THE TOP,

AND PLACED IT IN A WAGON.

FLANKED BY A COWBOY ESCORT,

GOODNIGHT STARTED BACK SOUTH
FOR TEXAS.

WORD OF THEIR PROFITS HAD SPREAD
THROUGHOUT CATTLE COUNTRY,

AND OTHER OUTFITS
WERE ALREADY STREAMING NORTH --

HEADED NOW
FOR THE NEAREST RAILHEADS

FROM WHICH THEY COULD SHIP
THEIR STEERS EAST.

A NEW INDUSTRY HAD BEEN BORN.

BUT IN FEBRUARY OF 1868,
CHARLES GOODNIGHT,

THE MAN WHO HAD HELPED
START IT ALL,

WAS HEADED
IN THE OTHER DIRECTION.

KEEPING HIS PROMISE
TO HIS DEAD PARTNER,

HE WAS TAKING
OLIVER LOVING HOME.

[ WHISTLE BLOWS ]

RAILWAYS, MULTIPLIED
AND SPANNING THE CONTINENT,

ARE ESSENTIAL
DOMESTIC INSTITUTIONS --

MORE POWERFUL
AND MORE PERMANENT THAN LAW,

OR POPULAR CONSENT,
OR POLITICAL CONSTITUTIONS,

TO THOROUGHLY COMPLETE
THE GRAND SYSTEM

WHICH FRATERNIZES US
INTO ONE PEOPLE --

WILLIAM GILPIN.

Narrator: BY THE SPRING OF 1869,

THE COMPETITION BETWEEN
THE CENTRAL PACIFIC

AND THE UNION PACIFIC
WAS CONVERGING ON NORTHERN UTAH.

RIVAL ARMIES OF RAILROAD MEN
VIED TO COVER THE MOST GROUND

AND EARN THE MOST MONEY
FOR THEIR EMPLOYERS

BEFORE THE TWO LINES
FINALLY MET.

THEY TRIED TO OUTDO ONE ANOTHER,

FIRST LAYING FIVE MILES OF TRACK
IN A SINGLE DAY --

THEN SIX, THEN SEVEN,
AND THEN TEN MILES --

A PACE OF RAILROAD-BUILDING SUCH
AS THE WORLD HAD NEVER SEEN.

NO FIXED RENDEZVOUS POINT
HAD EVER BEEN ESTABLISHED.

GRADING CREWS
FOR THE TWO COMPANIES,

WORKING FAR AHEAD
OF THE TRACK LAYERS,

PASSED EACH OTHER
IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS

AND PUSHED ON
FOR HUNDREDS OF MILES --

SOMETIMES WORKING SO CLOSE
TO ONE ANOTHER

THAT EXPLOSIONS SET OFF
BY ONE WORK GANG

SPATTERED ITS RIVALS WITH DIRT.

FINALLY, THE GOVERNMENT
INTERVENED

AND PICKED PROMONTORY SUMMIT,
56 MILES WEST OF OGDEN,

AS THE PLACE WHERE
THE TWO LINES WOULD MEET.

THE RACE ACROSS THE WEST
WAS COMING TO A CLOSE AT LAST.

ON MAY 10, 1869,
EVERYTHING WAS READY.

A TELEGRAPHER STOOD BY
TO SIGNAL TO BOTH COASTS

AND ALL POINTS IN BETWEEN
THE DRIVING OF THE FINAL SPIKE.

[ MORSE CODE ]

Telegrapher: TO EVERYBODY,
KEEP QUIET.

WHEN THE LAST SPIKE IS DRIVEN
AT PROMONTORY POINT,

WE WILL SAY "DONE!"

DON'T BREAK THE CIRCUIT,

BUT WATCH FOR THE SIGNALS
OF THE BLOWS OF THE HAMMER.

Man: WE UNDERSTAND.
ALL ARE READY IN THE EAST.

Narrator: FOUR SPIKES --
TWO GOLD, ONE SILVER

AND THE FOURTH A BLEND
OF GOLD, SILVER AND IRON --

WERE TO BE TAPPED GENTLY
INTO POSITION WITH A SILVER MAUL

TO MARK THE OCCASION.

AND THEN A FINAL SPIKE --

AN ORDINARY ONE BUT WIRED
TO THE TELEGRAPHER'S KEY --

WAS TO BE HAMMERED
INTO THE GROUND.

Telegrapher: ALMOST READY.

HATS OFF --
PRAYER IS BEING OFFERED.

Preacher: WE DESIRE TO
ACKNOWLEDGE THY HANDIWORK...

Telegrapher: THE SPIKE
WILL SOON BE DRIVEN.

Preacher: ...THAT MIGHTY
ENTERPRISE MAY BE UNTO US

AS THE ATLANTIC
OF THY STRENGTH,

AND THE PACIFIC OF THY LOVE,

THROUGH JESUS THE REDEEMER,
AMEN.

Telegrapher: WE HAVE
GOT DONE PRAYING.

THE SPIKE IS ABOUT
TO BE PRESENTED.

Narrator: THE FINAL SPIKE
WAS SLID INTO PLACE.

LELAND STANFORD
OF THE CENTRAL PACIFIC

WAS TO HAVE THE HONOR
OF DRIVING IT HOME.

Telegrapher: THE SIGNAL
WILL BE THREE DOTS

FOR THE COMMENCEMENT
OF THE BLOWS.

Narrator: STANFORD SWUNG
THE HAMMER HIGH ABOVE HIS HEAD,

BROUGHT IT DOWN -- AND MISSED.

THE TELEGRAPHER
CLOSED THE CIRCUIT, ANYWAY.

[ THREE DOTS ]
Telegrapher: DONE!

[ CHEERING ]

Narrator: IN WASHINGTON,
A GREAT CHEER WENT UP

FROM THE BIG CROWD IN FRONT
OF THE TELEGRAPH OFFICE,

AND AN ILLUMINATED BALL DROPPED
FROM THE DOME OF THE CAPITOL.

AT INDEPENDENCE HALL
IN PHILADELPHIA,

THE LIBERTY BELL WAS RUNG --

GINGERLY, SO THAT ITS CRACK
WOULD NOT WORSEN.

AND IN SAN FRANCISCO,

A HUGE BANNER WAS UNFURLED
THAT PROCLAIMED --

"CALIFORNIA ANNEXES
THE UNITED STATES."

THE VAST DISTANCES OF THE WEST
HAD AT LAST BEEN CONQUERED.

A JOURNEY THAT HAD ONCE
TAKEN MONTHS

COULD NOW BE ACCOMPLISHED
IN A MATTER OF DAYS.

Watkins: ONCE THE RAILS
WERE JOINED AT PROMONTORY,

I THINK YOU CAN SAY THAT WE
BEGAN FOR THE FIRST TIME, TRULY,

TO THINK OF OURSELVES
AS A CONTINENTAL NATION.

IT WAS A KIND OF A REACH
OF THE NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS

INTO A PLACE THAT HAD ONCE
ONLY BEEN OCCUPIED BY DREAMS,

AND MYTHS AND IMAGINATION,
AND HERE WAS

THE GREAT TECHNOLOGICAL MARVEL
OF ITS TIME,

CRASHING THROUGH
THOSE MYTHIC BARRIERS

AND GOING INTO
A VERY REAL PLACE.

Momaday: THAT MOMENT,
AT PROMONTORY POINT

IS A MOMENT OF TREMENDOUS
SIGNIFICANCE,

BECAUSE ON EITHER SIDE
OF THAT MOMENT

WERE VASTLY DIFFERENT WORLDS,
RADICALLY DIFFERENT WORLDS.

IT FORETOLD THE WHOLE STORY
OF TECHNOLOGY --

THE COMING OF THE MACHINE --

AND WHAT COULD BE MORE SYMBOLIC
OF THAT NEW AGE

THAN THE COMPLETION
OF THE RAILROAD

AND THE DRIVING
OF THE GOLDEN SPIKE.

NOTHING WOULD EVER BE THE SAME
IN THE WEST.

♪ OUR CAMP IS UNITED
WE ALL LABOR HARD ♪

♪ AND IF WE ARE FAITHFUL
WE'LL GAIN OUR REWARD ♪

♪ OUR LEADER IS WISE
AND A GREAT LEADER, TOO ♪

♪ AND ALL THINGS HE TELLS US
WE'RE RIGHT GLAD TO DO ♪

♪ HURRAY, HURRAH,
THE RAILROAD'S BEGUN ♪

♪ THREE CHEERS
FOR OUR CONTRACTOR ♪

♪ HIS NAME'S BRIGHAM YOUNG ♪

♪ HURRAY, HURRAH,
WE'RE LIGHTHEARTED AND GAY ♪

♪ JUST THE RIGHT KIND OF BOYS
TO BUILD A RAILWAY ♪♪

Narrator: BRIGHAM YOUNG HAD
BROUGHT HIS MORMON PEOPLE WEST

IN SEARCH OF SANCTUARY FROM
THE REST OF THE UNITED STATES,

BUT THE NEW
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD

NOW RAN RIGHT THROUGH UTAH.

AND IT BEGAN BRINGING THOUSANDS
OF NEW SETTLERS

INTO YOUNG'S KINGDOM --

NON-BELIEVERS WHO THREATENED
HIS AUTHORITY

AND DEPLORED THE MORMON PRACTICE
OF PLURAL MARRIAGE -- POLYGAMY.

Watkins: THE MORMONS MUST HAVE
VIEWED THE COMPLETION

OF THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD
WITH AN INCREDIBLE AMBIGUITY.

ON THE ONE HAND, THEY WERE
A VERY COMMERCIAL PEOPLE.

THEY UNDERSTOOD PRECISELY
HOW IMPORTANT THE RAILROAD

WAS GOING TO BE TO THE GROWTH OF
BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY IN UTAH.

ON THE OTHER HAND, BEING ABLE
TO SUSTAIN THEIR WAY OF LIFE

DEPENDED ALMOST ABSOLUTELY ON
A POWERFUL DEGREE OF ISOLATION.

THE RAILROAD DESTROYED THAT,

THE RAILROAD
OPENED UP THE GATES.

THE RAILROAD LET THE WORLD IN --

AND SOMETIMES
LET THE MORMONS OUT --

AND IT HAD TO HAVE BEEN
A TERRIBLE BLOW

TO THE BASE OF THE SOCIETY'S
CONFIDENCE IN ITSELF.

[ GAVEL BANGING ]

Narrator: IN 1870,
SOME 5,000 MORMON WOMEN

HELD AN "INDIGNATION MEETING"
IN THE SALT LAKE TABERNACLE.

THEY WERE PROTESTING
AGAINST THOSE NON-BELIEVERS

WHO HAD DARED CRITICIZE
PLURAL MARRIAGE.

THE WORLD SAYS POLYGAMY
MAKES WOMEN INFERIOR TO MEN --

WE THINK DIFFERENTLY.

POLYGAMY GIVES WOMEN MORE TIME

FOR THOUGHT,
FOR MENTAL CULTURE,

MORE FREEDOM OF ACTION,
A BROADER FIELD OF LABOR,

AND LEADS WOMEN
MORE DIRECTLY TO GOD

THE FOUNTAIN OF ALL TRUTH --

EMMELINE WELLS.

Narrator: ONE OF THE KEYNOTE
SPEAKERS AT THE RALLY

WAS A DETERMINED, HARD-WORKING
WOMAN NAMED EMMELINE WELLS.

BORN IN MASSACHUSETTS

AND GRADUATED
FROM A SELECT GIRLS' SCHOOL,

WELLS HAD CONVERTED TO MORMONISM
AND MOVED TO NAUVOO, ILLINOIS

WHERE SHE LOST HER FIRST CHILD

AND WAS ABANDONED
BY HER HUSBAND --

ALL BEFORE THE AGE OF SIXTEEN.

A SECOND HUSBAND DIED.

THEN SHE BECAME THE SEVENTH WIFE
OF DANIEL WELLS,

THE MAYOR OF SALT LAKE CITY.

NOW, SHE LIVED
IN HER OWN SMALL HOUSE,

AND HELPED TO SUPPORT HERSELF
AND HER FAMILY

WHEN WELLSFINANCES SUFFERED.

"I HAVE NO STRONG ARM
TO LEAN UPON,

NO PROTECTION OR COMFORT
IN MY HUSBAND,"

SHE WROTE PRIVATELY
IN HER DIARY.

AND YET, HER COMMITMENT TO
PLURAL MARRIAGE WAS UNSHAKEABLE.

Woman: I ACTUALLY THINK
THAT SOME OF THE GREAT FEMINISTS

WERE WOMEN IN POLYGAMY.

MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER
IS AMONG THEM.

IF THERE WAS A WOMAN
WHO EXCELLED IN TEACHING,

SHE HAD HER OWN LIFE.

IF THERE WAS ANOTHER WOMAN WHO
EXCELLED IN COOKING OR FARMING,

SHE HAD HER LIFE.

AND EVERYONE HAD
KIND OF THEIR OWN FOCUS.

THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS SENSE
OF SISTERHOOD.

AND IN MANY WAYS
THE MEN WERE IMMATERIAL.

Narrator:
THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES,

WOMEN WERE DENIED
THE RIGHT TO VOTE,

AND WELLS,
AS THE OUTSPOKEN EDITOR

OF A POPULAR MORMON NEWSPAPER
FOR WOMEN,

WANTED TO CHANGE THAT.

Wells: "THE WOMAN'S EXPONENT,"
VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1.

MILLIONS OF INTELLIGENT WOMEN
ARE DEPRIVED OF THE VOTE

SIMPLY BECAUSE NATURE QUALIFIED
THEM TO BECOME MOTHERS

AND NOT FATHERS OF MEN.

THEY MAY OWN PROPERTY,
PAY TAXES,

ASSIST IN SUPPORTING
THE GOVERNMENT,

REND THEIR HEARTSTRINGS
IN GIVING FOR ITS AID

THE CHILDREN
OF THEIR AFFECTIONS,

BUT THEY ARE
DENIED ALL RIGHT TO SAY

WHO SHALL DISBURSE THOSE TAXES,

HOW THAT GOVERNMENT
SHALL BE CONDUCTED,

OR WHO SHALL DECIDE
ON A QUESTION OF PEACE OR WAR

WHICH MAY INVOLVE THE LIVES

OF THEIR SONS, BROTHERS,
FATHERS AND HUSBANDS.

Narrator: IN HER PUSH
FOR THE VOTE IN UTAH,

WELLS FOUND
A MOST UNLIKELY ALLY --

THE MORMON PATRIARCH HIMSELF,
BRIGHAM YOUNG.

HE WAS CERTAIN
THAT ADDING MORMON WOMEN

TO THE VOTERS' ROLLS WOULD ONLY
STRENGTHEN HIS HOLD ON UTAH.

ON FEBRUARY 12, 1870,
WITH YOUNG'S BACKING,

THE UTAH TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE
GRANTED WOMEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE.

TWO DAYS LATER,
THEY EXERCISED IT.

YOUNG'S NIECE VOTED FIRST,

FOLLOWED BY ONE
OF HIS DAUGHTERS.

EVENTUALLY, EMMELINE WELLS
JOINED THE LEADERSHIP

OF THE NATIONAL
SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT,

DETERMINED TO WIN
FOR ALL AMERICAN WOMEN

THE RIGHT NOW ENJOYED IN UTAH.

BUT SHE NEVER STOPPED
LOBBYING FOR ANOTHER CAUSE,

JUST AS PRECIOUS TO HER --

THE RIGHT TO REMAIN
A PLURAL WIFE.

ALL HONOR
AND REVERENCE TO GOOD MEN,

BUT THEY AND THEIR ATTENTIONS

ARE NOT THE ONLY SOURCE
OF HAPPINESS ON THE EARTH

AND NEED NOT FILL UP
EVERY THOUGHT OF WOMAN.

AND WHEN MEN SEE
THAT WOMEN CAN EXIST

WITHOUT THEIR BEING
CONSTANTLY AT HAND,

IT WILL PERHAPS
TAKE A LITTLE OF THE CONCEIT

OUT OF SOME OF THEM --

EMMELINE WELLS.

Narrator: FOLLOWING THE LEAD

OF THE UNION PACIFIC
AND CENTRAL PACIFIC,

OTHER RAIL LINES SOON SPREAD
THROUGHOUT THE WEST --

THE KANSAS PACIFIC,
NORTHERN PACIFIC,

AND DENVER PACIFIC,

THE TEXAS AND PACIFIC,
THE DENVER AND RIO GRANDE,

THE ATCHISON, TOPEKA
AND SANTA FE.

AND AS THE RAILROADS MOVED
ONTO THE GREAT PLAINS,

THEY BROUGHT WITH THEM PEOPLE
WHO HAD NEVER SEEN THE WEST,

OR ITS MOST MAGNIFICENT ANIMAL,
THE BUFFALO.

AT FIRST, THEY SHOT THE BUFFALO
FOR SPORT --

BANGING AWAY AT THE HUGE HERDS

FROM THE WINDOWS
OF PASSENGER CARS.

ONE CHURCH GROUP
FROM LAWRENCE, KANSAS,

ORGANIZED A TWO-DAY
HUNTING EXCURSION

TO RAISE MONEY
FOR THE CONGREGATION --

300 PEOPLE SIGNED UP.

WHEN THE WHITE MEN
WANTED TO BUILD RAILROADS,

OR WHEN THEY WANTED TO FARM
OR RAISE CATTLE,

THE BUFFALO STILL
PROTECTED THE KIOWAS.

THEY TORE UP THE RAILROAD
TRACKS AND THE GARDENS.

THEY CHASED THE CATTLE
OFF THE RANGES.

THE BUFFALO LOVED THEIR PEOPLE

AS MUCH AS THE KIOWAS
LOVED THEM.

THEN THE WHITE MEN
HIRED HUNTERS

TO DO NOTHING
BUT KILL THE BUFFALO --

OLD LADY HORSE.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING,
DRUM BEATING ]

[ GUNSHOT ]

THE BUFFALO DIDN'T BELONG
TO ANYBODY.

IF YOU COULD KILL THEM,
WHAT THEY BROUGHT WAS YOURS.

THEY WERE WALKING
GOLD PIECES --

FRANK H. MAYER.

Narrator: FRANK MAYER WAS
HANGING AROUND

DODGE CITY, KANSAS,
IN THE HEART OF BUFFALO COUNTRY,

LOOKING FOR WORK,
WHEN HE MET TWO HUNTERS

WHO OFFERED TO SHOW HIM
THEIR BRAND-NEW TRADE.

"I WAS YOUNG.
I NEEDED ADVENTURE,"

HE REMEMBERED, "HERE WAS IT."

THE NEW RAIL LINES MEANT THAT
BUFFALO ROBES AND BUFFALO MEAT

COULD BE TAKEN
TO EASTERN MARKETS

IN GREATER NUMBERS,
AT LOWER COSTS.

AND MANUFACTURERS
HAD PERFECTED TECHNIQUES

FOR TURNING STIFF BUFFALO HIDES
INTO SOFT LEATHER --

IDEAL FOR SHOES, CUSHIONS,
CARRIAGE TOPS,

AND THE BELTS THAT TURNED
MACHINERY IN EASTERN FACTORIES.

FRANK MAYER WAS DETERMINED
TO BE AMONG THE FIRST

TO PROFIT FROM THE BUFFALO BOOM.

HE SANK EVERYTHING HE OWNED
INTO A HUNTING OUTFIT --

WAGONS, MULES, CAMP EQUIPMENT,
AND FIREARMS.

THEN HE HEADED OUT
ONTO THE PLAINS.

WHEN I WENT INTO THE BUSINESS,
I SAT DOWN AND FIGURED

THAT I WAS INDEED
ONE OF FORTUNE'S CHILDREN.

JUST THINK --
THERE WERE 20 MILLION BUFFALO,

EACH WORTH AT LEAST $3 --
$60 MILLION.

AT THE VERY OUTSIDE,
CARTRIDGES COST 25 CENTS EACH,

SO EVERY TIME I FIRED ONE,

I GOT MY INVESTMENT BACK
12 TIMES OVER.

I COULD KILL A HUNDRED A DAY.

THAT WOULD BE $6,000 A MONTH --
OR THREE TIMES WHAT WAS PAID,

IT SEEMS TO ME, THE PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES.

WAS I NOT LUCKY
THAT I DISCOVERED

THIS QUICK AND EASY WAY
TO FORTUNE?

I THOUGHT I WAS --

FRANK H. MAYER.

[ GUNSHOT ]

[ GUNSHOT ]

[ GUNSHOT ]

Man: WE HAD A MOTLEY ARRAY
OF NEIGHBORS.

ON ONE SIDE A GERMAN,
WHO COULD SCARCE SPEAK ENGLISH,

MARRIED TO A BOHEMIAN,

WHO COULD SPEAK LITTLE ENGLISH
AND NO GERMAN.

ON ANOTHER SIDE,
A FAMILY OF SWEDES

FRESH FROM THE OLD COUNTRY.

ON AN ADJOINING FARM, A
SCOTSMAN WITH A MISSOURI WIFE.

NEARBY A FAMILY FROM IOWA.

ANOTHER FAMILY FROM ILLINOIS.

SOME OLD, SOME YOUNG, SOME
ILLITERATE, SOME WELL-EDUCATED.

YET, ALL ENGAGED
IN THE SAME ENTERPRISE.

Narrator: AS MORE AND MORE
RAILROADS

EXPANDED INTO THE WEST,

AN INTENSE COMPETITION
BETWEEN THEM BEGAN.

SETTLERS WERE SOUGHT WHO WOULD
PROVIDE BUSINESS

FOR THEIR FREIGHT TRAINS,

AND BUY THE LAND THE RAILROADS
HAD BEEN GIVEN

AS GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES.

"YOU CAN LAY TRACK
TO THE GARDEN OF EDEN,"

SAID THE HEAD
OF THE NORTHERN PACIFIC,

"BUT WHAT GOOD IS IT IF THE ONLY
INHABITANTS ARE ADAM AND EVE?"

WESTERN STATES ALSO
CONTENDED WITH ONE ANOTHER

FOR NEW RESIDENTS.

THE HOMESTEAD ACT PROMISED
160 ACRES OF PUBLIC LAND

TO ANY PERSON WHO FILED A CLAIM,
PAID A $10 FEE,

AND AGREED TO WORK THE PROPERTY
FOR FIVE YEARS.

IN THE 1870s, KANSAS GREW BY
MORE THAN HALF A MILLION PEOPLE.

NEBRASKA'S POPULATION
QUADRUPLED.

200 SCOTTISH FAMILIES

SETTLED ON THE
KANSAS-NEBRASKA BORDER.

THE HEBREW IMMIGRANT AID SOCIETY
LURED JEWS FROM EASTERN EUROPE

TO OREGON, COLORADO, KANSAS,
THE DAKOTAS.

GERMAN-RUSSIAN MENNONITES,
SWEDISH, DUTCH, FRENCH,

BOHEMIAN, IRISH,
AND NORWEGIAN FAMILIES

WERE SOON SCATTERED
ACROSS THE PLAINS.

Man: IN THE VILLAGES OF EUROPE
YOU MIGHT BE

ONLY A FEW STEPS AWAY
FROM YOUR NEIGHBORS,

CERTAINLY
WITHIN HEARING DISTANCE.

YOU COULD HEAR THE VILLAGE'S
CHURCH BELLS RINGING

ON A SUNDAY MORNING.

SUDDENLY, HERE THEY WERE
ISOLATED

MANY MILES FROM NEIGHBORS
AND FROM VILLAGES

WITH LONG PERIODS OF TIME
BETWEEN ANY KIND OF INTERACTION.

THEY HAD "WIND SICKNESS,"
THEY CALLED IT,

FROM THE CONSTANT BLOWING
OF THE WIND.

THEY PLANTED TREES
AROUND THEIR HOUSES

NOT SIMPLY FOR THE SHADE
OR FOR THE BEAUTY,

BUT TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE
IMMENSITY OF THE LANDSCAPE.

Narrator: THEY STARTED TOWNS

LIKE LINDSBORG AND
HOFFNUNGSTHAL,

NEW ALEXANDERWOHL
AND DANNEBROG --

SOME WITH THE SAME STREET PLANS
AS THEIR OLD VILLAGES IN EUROPE.

AND THEY PLANTED WHEAT
THEY HAD BROUGHT ALONG

FROM AS FAR AWAY AS RUSSIA.

IT FLOURISHED AS NO OTHER
DOMESTIC CROP EVER HAD BEFORE

ON THE SEMI-ARID PLAINS,

AND WOULD ONE DAY HELP MAKE
THE UNITED STATES

THE AGRICULTURAL WONDER
OF THE WORLD.

Welsch: THE MEN HAD FARMED,

IN MANY CASES,
MOST OF THEIR LIVES.

THEY HAD TO STRUGGLE
AGAINST ROOTS AND ROCKS

AND ALL THESE THINGS
THAT MADE FARMING DIFFICULT.

THEY LOOKED AROUND THEM HERE,
AND THERE WERE THOUSANDS,

TENS OF THOUSANDS,
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF ACRES

WITHOUT A ROOT OR A ROCK.

THEY COULD PUT THEIR PLOW
IN THE GROUND

AND GO MILES AND MILES
STRAIGHT AHEAD

WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT A HILL.

THIS WAS GRASS, GROUND, EARTH
THAT HAD NEVER BEEN TURNED

IN ALL OF HISTORY EXCEPT
MAYBE BY A BUFFALO'S HORN.

THEY SAID THE FIRST TIME
A PLOW WENT THROUGH THAT GROUND,

IT SOUNDED LIKE THE OPENING
OF A GIANT ZIPPER

FROM THE GRASS ROOTS TEARING
AS THE PLOW WENT THROUGH IT.

TO THEM, THIS WAS
A DREAM COME TRUE.

[ WIND BLOWING ]

Woman: WE SELDOM STOP TO THINK
HOW DESPERATELY LONELY IT WAS.

ONE OF THE TALES I LIKE THE BEST

WAS ABOUT A WOMAN
WHO LIVED OUT WEST TEXAS.

SHE SELDOM SAW ANYBODY
UP IN THE PANHANDLE.

A COWBOY CAME THROUGH ONE TIME
AND BROUGHT HER A SACK

THAT HAD THREE CHICKENS IN IT.

AND SHE COULD NOT BRING HERSELF
TO KILL THOSE CHICKENS.

SHE SAID, "YOU WILL NEVER KNOW
WHAT GOOD COMPANY THEY WERE."

THERE WAS SOME CORE
OF THAT WOMAN

THAT EMBRACED THIS RAW COUNTRY,

BUT YOU SEE IT WAS HER LOT.

HER HUSBAND GOES OFF
TO ROUND UP THE CATTLE,

ON WHATEVER ADVENTURE
THAT HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ON

AND IT WAS HER LOT
TO KEEP THE HOMESTEAD,

TO RUN THE RANCH,
TO CARE FOR HIS FAMILY.

AND SO I THINK OF THAT WOMAN
OFTEN WITH THOSE THREE CHICKENS.

AND I BET THEY WERE
GOOD COMPANY.

SURELY THE HAND OF PROVIDENCE
MUST BE IN THIS,

AS IT SEEMS THIS "DESERT" --

AS IT HAS BEEN TERMED
SO LONG --

HAS BEEN SPECIALLY RESERVED
FOR THE POOR OF OUR LAND

WHERE THEY CAN FIND A HOME
FOR THEMSELVES AND FAMILIES.

AND WHERE THEY CAN ENJOY

THE COMPANIONSHIP
OF THEIR LOVED ONES,

UNDISTURBED BY THOSE
THAT HAVE HERETOFORE HELD THEM

UNDER THE MOST
EXCLUSIVE CONTROL --

URIAH OBLINGER.

Narrator: IN THE SUMMER OF 1872,

A UNION VETERAN NAMED
URIAH WESLEY OBLINGER

LEFT HIS RENTED FARM
IN ONWARD, INDIANA,

AND SET OUT WITH HIS BROTHER
AND TWO BROTHERS-IN-LAW

FOR NEBRASKA,
TO CLAIM THE HOMESTEAD

TO WHICH HIS MILITARY SERVICE
ENTITLED HIM.

HIS WIFE, MATTIE,
AND INFANT DAUGHTER, ELLA,

WERE TO WAIT AT HOME
UNTIL HE SENT FOR THEM.

Oblinger: OCTOBER 6, 1872
DEAR WIFE AND BABY --

WELL I SUPPOSE THE FIRST
QUESTION YOU WOULD ASK ME NOW

WOULD BE,
"HOW DO YOU LIKE NEBRASKA?"

WIFE, YOU CAN SEE JUST AS FAR
AS YOU PLEASE HERE,

AND ALMOST EVERY FOOT IN SIGHT
CAN BE PLOWED.

THE LONGER I STAY HERE,
THE BETTER I LIKE IT.

THERE ARE MOSTLY YOUNG
FAMILIES,

JUST STARTING IN LIFE
THE SAME AS WE ARE,

AND I FIND THEM
VERY GENEROUS, INDEED.

WE WILL ALL BE POOR HERE
TOGETHER.

I AM HUNTING A HOME FOR US
WHERE WE CAN ENJOY OURSELVES

WITHOUT BEING BOTHERED
DOING AS OTHER PEOPLE SAY.

I CAN GET ALONG WELL ENOUGH
THROUGH THE WEEK,

BUT WHEN SUNDAY COMES, I FEEL
A LITTLE LONESOME WITHOUT YOU.

GIVE BABY A KISS --
YES, TWO OF THEM --

AND TAKE ONE YOURSELF.

[ TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS ]

Narrator: AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR
OF SEPARATION,

URIAH OBLINGER'S
LONG WAIT ENDED.

HIS WIFE MATTIE
AND DAUGHTER ELLA,

ALONG WITH A CRATE CONTAINING
ALL THEIR WORLDLY GOODS

AND ANOTHER
FILLED WITH LIVE CHICKENS,

FINALLY ARRIVED
ABOARD THE MORNING TRAIN.

URIAH TOOK THEM
TO THEIR NEW HOME,

BUILT FROM PRAIRIE SOD
WITH HIS OWN HANDS,

TO BEGIN THEIR NEW LIFE.

DEAR MOTHER AND FATHER --

AT HOME IN OUR HOUSE
AND A SOD AT THAT!

WE MOVED IN LAST WEDNESDAY --
URIAH'S BIRTHDAY.

IT IS NOT QUITE SO CONVENIENT
AS A NICE FRAME,

BUT I WOULD AS SOON LIVE IN IT
AS THE CABINS I HAVE LIVED IN.

I RIPPED OUR WAGON SHEET
IN TWO,

HAVE IT AROUND THE SIDES
AND HAVE SEVERAL PAPERS UP.

IT LOOKS REAL SWELL.

THE ONLY OBJECTION I HAVE IS
THAT WE HAVE NO FLOOR YET --

MATTIE OBLINGER.

Uriah: WHAT A PLEASURE
IT IS TO WORK ON ONE'S OWN FARM

FOR YOU CAN FEEL THAT IT'S
YOURS AND NOT FOR SOMEONE ELSE.

I WOULD RATHER LIVE AS WE DO
THAN HAVE TO RENT

AND HAVE SOMEONE BOSSING US
AND TELLING US WHEN TO MOVE...

Mattie: WE HAVE JUST COME IN
FROM THE TRUCK PATCH

AND FOUND THE GOPHERS
HAD ABOUT CLEANED THE PEAS

OFF ALL THE VINES,

BUT OUR SQUASH VINES
ARE FULL OF BLOOM.

WE BROUGHT IN BEETS JUST NOW

THAT MEASURED ONE FOOT
IN CIRCUMFERENCE

AND POTATOES ALMOST AS LARGE
AS A GOOSE EGG...

Ella: DEAR GRANDPA --
I HAVE LEARNED MY LETTERS

AND CAN SPELL "AX" AND "CAT"
AND "DOG" AND "GIRL."

I BOTHER MA AND PA CONSIDERABLE
TO GET THEM TO LEARN ME.

I AM LEARNING "TWINKLE,
TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR."

LOTS OF LOVE AND KISSES --
ELLA.

Mattie: URIAH IS
REPAIRING THE MINUTES

OF THE LAST LITERARY SOCIETY

WHICH WAS HELD
LAST SATURDAY NIGHT.

THEY HAVE SOME BIG TIMES
DEBATING.

I GO ONCE IN A WHILE
TO HEAR THEM SPOUT.

WE HAD RATHER A NICE TIME
OVER THE HOLIDAYS.

WE HAD A CHRISTMAS TREE
AT THE SCHOOLHOUSE...

Ella: WE ALL WENT TO A
CHRISTMAS TREE ON CHRISTMAS EVE

AND EACH OF US GIRLS GOT A NEW
RED DRESS, AND A DOLL,

AND A STRING WITH CANDY
AND RAISINS ON IT.

FROM YOUR GRANDCHILD --
ELLA.

Mattie: I SUPPOSE YOU
WOULD LIKE TO KNOW

IF WE HAVE BEEN
GRASSHOPPERED AGAIN.

THEY WERE HERE SEVERAL DAYS
PRETTY THICK

AND INJURED THE CORN
CONSIDERABLE.

NEBRASKA WOULD HAVE HAD
A SPLENDID CROP

IF THE GRASSHOPPERS
HAD STAYED AWAY A WHILE --

MATTIE OBLINGER.

Narrator: THE OBLINGERS HAD
TWO MORE DAUGHTERS,

STELLA AND MAGGIE,

BUT AFTER SIX YEARS
ON THE PRAIRIE,

THINGS HAD NOT GOTTEN EASIER.

AND BY 1879,
MATTIE WAS PREGNANT AGAIN.

SHE WAS CONFINED
TUESDAY EVENING ABOUT 4:00,

AND ABOUT 8:00
SHE TOOK A FIT VERY SUDDEN

AND NEVER SPOKE
AFTER THE FIRST ONE.

THE DOCTORS WERE COMPELLED
TO PERFORM A SURGICAL OPERATION

BY RELIEVING HER OF THE CHILD.

THE LORD CALLED
FOR SISTER MATTIE

THIS EVENING AT 4:15.

AND SHE IS NOW RESTING
WITH THE ANGELS IN HEAVEN.

THE CHILD IS ALSO DEAD
AND WILL BE BURIED WITH HER

SOME TIME SUNDAY.

URIAH SAID HE COULD NOT STAND
TO WRITE NOW.

I DON'T KNOW
WHAT HE WILL DO YET.

IT'S LEFT HIM
AND HIS THREE LITTLE GIRLS

IN A SAD CONDITION --
WITHOUT A MOTHER --

GILES S. THOMAS.

Uriah:
DEAR FATHER AND MOTHER --

I TRY TO BEAR THE TROUBLE
CHEERFULLY,

THOUGH THE TASK IS HARD
AT TIMES.

I HARDLY KNOW HOW TO MANAGE.

Narrator: URIAH EVENTUALLY TOOK
THE TRAIN BACK EAST TO MINNESOTA

AND REMARRIED,

BUT HE NEVER GAVE UP HIS DREAM.

HE RETURNED TO THE PLAINS
TO START OVER --

NEBRASKA, THEN KANSAS,
THEN NEBRASKA AGAIN.

HE SPENT THE LAST FEW MONTHS
OF HIS LIFE BEING CARED FOR

BY HIS DAUGHTER, ELLA --
THE SAME GIRL, NOW GROWN,

HE HAD ONCE BEEN SO ANXIOUS
TO BRING OUT TO NEBRASKA,

WITH HER MOTHER.

[ COWS MOOING ]

HERE WAS ALL THESE
CHEAP LONG-HORNED STEERS

OVERRUNNING TEXAS.

AND HERE WAS THE REST
OF THE COUNTRY

CRYING OUT FOR BEEF --

AND NO RAILROADS
TO GET THEM OUT.

SO THEY TRAILED THEM OUT,

ACROSS HUNDREDS OF MILES
OF WILD COUNTRY --

TEDDY "BLUE" ABBOTT.

Narrator: FROM THE SOUTHERNMOST
TIP OF TEXAS,

CATTLE TRAILS POINTED NORTH --

THE SHAWNEE, THE CHISHOLM, THE
WESTERN, THE GOODNIGHT-LOVING.

THEY ALL LED TO RAILHEADS,

WHERE THE CATTLE WERE LOADED
INTO FREIGHT CARS

BOUND FOR EASTERN MARKETS.

IN LESS THAN TWO DECADES,

SIX MILLION STEERS AND COWS
WERE HERDED NORTH.

"SO MANY,"
ONE TRAIL DRIVER SAID,

"THAT IN PLACES THE DUST
WAS KNEE-DEEP TO THE CATTLE."

THE MEN WHO BROUGHT THEM
TO THE RAILROADS

WERE GIVEN A NEW NAME --
COWBOYS.

THEY WERE A MIXED GROUP --
FORMER CONFEDERATE CAVALRY MEN

AND IMMIGRANTS WHO HAD ONLY
RECENTLY LEARNED TO RIDE.

THERE WERE INDIAN COWBOYS
AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS,

AND MEXICAN VAQUEROS,
WHOSE ANCESTORS

HAD INTRODUCED CATTLE
TO THE WEST CENTURIES EARLIER.

"A COWBOY,"
ONE WESTERNER OBSERVED,

"IS JUST A PLAIN BOWLEGGED HUMAN

WHO SMELLED VERY HORSY
AT TIMES."

IN PERSON,
THE COWBOYS WERE MOSTLY

MEDIUM-SIZED MEN,
QUICK AND WIRY,

AND AS A RULE,
VERY GOOD-NATURED.

IN FACT, IT DID NOT PAY
TO BE ANYTHING ELSE.

IN CHARACTER, THEIR LIKE
NEVER WAS OR WILL BE AGAIN --

TEDDY "BLUE" ABBOTT.

Narrator: EDWARD C. ABBOTT
WAS BORN IN CRANWICH, ENGLAND,

AND BROUGHT TO THE WEST
BY HIS PARENTS AS A BOY.

HOPING THE OPEN AIR WOULD
IMPROVE HIS FRAIL HEALTH,

HIS FATHER LET HIM HELP DRIVE
A HERD OF CATTLE

FROM TEXAS TO NEBRASKA
WHEN HE WAS JUST 10 YEARS OLD.

"THE EXPERIENCE,"
ABBOTT SAID LATER,

"MADE A COWBOY OUT OF ME.

NOTHING COULD HAVE CHANGED ME
AFTER THAT."

Abbott: MY FAMILY AND I
WENT SEPARATE WAYS,

AND THEY STAYED SEPARATE
FOREVER AFTER.

MY FATHER WAS ALL FOR FARMING,

AND ALL MY BROTHERS TURNED OUT
FARMERS EXCEPT ONE,

AND HE ENDED UP THE WORST
OF THE LOT --

A SHEEPMAN, AND A REPUBLICAN.

Narrator: THE COWBOYS'
AVERAGE AGE WAS 24.

THEY WERE PAID SO BADLY
AND WORKED SO HARD

THAT TWO-THIRDS OF THEM
MADE ONLY ONE TRAIL DRIVE

BEFORE FINDING
SOMETHING BETTER TO DO.

THEY OWNED THEIR SADDLE,
BUT NOT THE HORSE THEY RODE --

AND THEY RODE IT DAY AND NIGHT.

FOR A MAN TO BE STOVE UP AT 30

MAY SOUND STRANGE
TO SOME PEOPLE,

BUT MANY A COWBOY HAS BEEN
SO BUNGED UP

THAT HE'S HAD TO QUIT RIDING
THAT EARLY IN LIFE.

MY ADVICE TO ANY YOUNG MAN
OR BOY IS TO STAY AT HOME

AND NOT BE A RAMBLER,
AS IT WON'T BUY YOU ANYTHING --

JAMES EMMIT McCAULEY.

[ THUNDER CRASHES ]

Abbott: IF A STORM COME
AND THE CATTLE STARTED RUNNING,

YOU'D HEAR THAT LOW RUMBLING
NOISE ALONG THE GROUND.

THEN YOU'D JUMP FOR YOUR HORSE
AND GET OUT THERE IN THE LEAD,

TRYING TO HEAD THEM
AND GET THEM INTO A MILL

BEFORE THEY SCATTERED
TO HELL AND GONE.

IT WAS RIDING AT A DEAD RUN
IN THE DARK,

WITH CUT BANKS AND PRAIRIE DOG
HOLES ALL AROUND YOU,

NOT KNOWING IF THE NEXT JUMP

WOULD LAND YOU
IN A SHALLOW GRAVE.

♪ I RIDE AN OLD PAINT
AND I LEAD AN OLD DAN ♪

♪ I'M GOIN' TO MONTANA
TO THROW THE HOOLIHAN ♪

Abbott: THE SINGING WAS SUPPOSED
TO SOOTHE THE CATTLE,

AND IT DID.

THE TWO MEN ON GUARD
WOULD CIRCLE AROUND

WITH THEIR HORSES ON A WALK,
IF IT WAS A CLEAR NIGHT

AND THE CATTLE WAS BEDDED DOWN
AND QUIET,

AND ONE MAN WOULD SING A VERSE
OF A SONG,

AND HIS PARTNER
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HERD

WOULD SING ANOTHER VERSE.

AND YOU'D GO THROUGH A WHOLE
SONG THAT WAY.

I HAD A CRACKERJACK
OF A PARTNER IN '79.

I'D SING AND HE'D ANSWER,

AND WE'D KEEP IT UP LIKE THAT
FOR TWO HOURS.

BUT HE WAS KILLED BY LIGHTNING.

Narrator: AFTER UP TO FOUR
STRAIGHT MONTHS IN THE SADDLE,

OFTEN IN THE SAME CLOTHES
EVERY DAY,

EATING EVERY MEAL
AT THE CHUCK WAGON,

DRINKING NOTHING
BUT COFFEE AND WATER,

THE COWBOY'S JOB
WAS FINALLY DONE --

HE WAS PAID FOR HIS WORK,
AND TURNED LOOSE IN TOWN.

♪ NOW COME ALONG BOYS
AND LISTEN TO MY TALE ♪

♪ AND I'LL TELL YOU
OF MY TROUBLES ♪

♪ ON THE CHISHOLM TRAIL ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YI YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ I STARTED UP THE TRAIL
OCTOBER 23rd ♪

♪ LEFT OLD TEXAS
WITH A TWO-MULE HERD ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YI YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YAY ♪♪

[ FLASHBULB POPS ]

[ FLASHBULB POPS ]

[ FLASHBULB POPS ]

Abbott:
I BOUGHT SOME NEW CLOTHES

AND GOT MY PICTURE TAKEN.

I HAD A NEW, WHITE STETSON HAT
THAT I PAID $10 FOR

AND NEW PANTS THAT COST $12 AND
A GOOD SHIRT AND FANCY BOOTS.

LORD, I WAS PROUD
OF THOSE CLOTHES!

WHEN MY SISTER SAW ME,
SHE SAID,

"TAKE YOUR PANTS OUT OF YOUR
BOOTS AND PUT YOUR COAT ON.

YOU LOOK LIKE AN OUTLAW."

I TOLD HER TO GO TO HELL,

AND I NEVER DID LIKE HER
AFTER THAT.

Narrator:
COWBOYS WERE BIG SPENDERS,

BUT WHILE BUSINESSES PROFITED,

ALL THE COW TOWNS
SOON BECAME WILDER

THAN THEIR
PERMANENT RESIDENTS LIKED.

Man: "ABILENE CHRONICLE."

THE MARSHAL HAS POSTED UP
PRINTED NOTICES,

INFORMING ALL PERSONS
THAT THE ORDINANCE

AGAINST CARRYING FIREARMS
OR OTHER WEAPONS IN ABILENE

WILL BE ENFORCED.
THAT'S RIGHT.

THERE'S NO BRAVERY
IN CARRYING REVOLVERS

IN A CIVILIZED COMMUNITY.

Narrator: GUN-CONTROL ORDINANCES
WERE COMMON.

COWBOYS WHO INSISTED ON CARRYING
THEIR SIX-SHOOTERS IN TOWN

RISKED FINES AND IMPRISONMENT.

TO MAKE SURE THE LAWS
WERE OBEYED,

SOME COW TOWNS RESORTED
TO HIRING NOTORIOUS GUNMEN --

WYATT EARP, BAT MASTERSON,
AND WILD BILL HICKOK --

TO KEEP THE PEACE.

Man: MORALLY, AS A CLASS,
COWBOYS ARE FOULMOUTHED,

BLASPHEMOUS, DRUNKEN,
LECHEROUS, UTTERLY CORRUPT.

USUALLY HARMLESS ON THE PLAINS
WHEN SOBER,

THEY ARE DREADED IN THE TOWNS,

FOR THEN LIQUOR HAS
AN ASCENDANCY OVER THEM --

"CHEYENNE DAILY LEADER."

Narrator:
ONE BY ONE, THE COW TOWNS

WOULD DECLARE THEMSELVES
OFF-LIMITS TO THE TEXAS HERDS

AND THE COWBOYS WHO CAME
WITH THEM.

[ GUNSHOT ]

Abbott: THEN I WENT HOME.

AFTER I GOT HOME MY FATHER
SAID TO ME ONE NIGHT,

"YOU CAN TAKE OLD MORGAN AND
PLOW THE WEST RIDGE TOMORROW."

LIKE HELL I'D PLOW
THE WEST RIDGE.

AND WHEN MY FATHER WOKE UP
NEXT MORNING, TEDDY WAS GONE.

[ TRAIN ENGINE PUFFING ]

I CROSS THE LARAMIE PLAINS.

I SEE IN GLIMPSES AFAR OR
TOWERING IMMEDIATELY ABOVE ME

THE GREAT MOUNTAINS.

I SEE THE WIND RIVER
AND THE WASATCH MOUNTAINS.

I SEE THE MONUMENT MOUNTAIN
AND THE EAGLE'S NEST.

I PASS THE PROMONTORY.
I ASCEND THE NEVADAS.

I SEE THE CLEAR WATERS
OF LAKE TAHOE.

I SEE FORESTS
OF MAJESTIC PINES.

MARCHING THROUGH THESE
AND AFTER ALL

IN DUPLICATE SLENDER LINES,

BRIDGING THE THREE OR FOUR
THOUSAND MILES OF LAND TRAVEL,

TYING THE EASTERN
TO THE WESTERN SEA,

THE ROAD BETWEEN EUROPE
AND ASIA --

WALT WHITMAN.

Narrator: FROM THE TIME
OF COLUMBUS,

EXPLORERS HAD SEARCHED IN VAIN
FOR A PASSAGE

THAT WOULD CONNECT THE ATLANTIC
WITH THE PACIFIC.

THE CENTURIES-OLD DREAM
HAD FINALLY COME TRUE.

NO SUCH PASSAGE EXISTED,
SO THE AMERICANS HAD BUILT ONE.

[ TRAIN ENGINE PUFFING ]

Watkins: IF YOU WERE LOOKING
FOR THE DEFINITIVE SYMBOL

OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN
THE CULTURES THAT HAD EXISTED

IN THE AMERICAN WEST
FOR AT LEAST 10,000 YEARS,

AND MAYBE LONGER,

AND THE CULTURE
THAT WAS JUST A-BUILDING

EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER,

THIS CULTURE OF TECHNOLOGY,
OF COMMERCE,

OF GRASPING AFTER TOMORROW
BEFORE IT ARRIVES,

YOU COULDN'T COME UP
WITH TWO MORE POWERFUL SYMBOLS

THAN THE RAILROAD
AND THE BUFFALO,

BECAUSE WHEN THE RAILROAD
MET THE BUFFALO,

THE IRON AGE MET THE STONE AGE.

THE MACHINE ARRIVED
IN THE GARDEN,

AND THE WEST
WAS CHANGED FOREVER.

Momaday: THERE WAS A MAN
WHO KILLED A BUFFALO BULL

TO NO PURPOSE, ONLY HE WANTED
ITS BLOOD ON HIS HANDS.

IT WAS A GREAT, OLD NOBLE BEAST,

AND IT WAS A LONG TIME
BLOWING ITS LIFE AWAY.

ON THE EDGE OF THE NIGHT,

THE PEOPLE
GATHERED THEMSELVES UP

IN THEIR GRIEF AND SHAME.

AWAY IN THE WEST,

THEY COULD SEE THE HUMP
AND SPINE OF THE HUGE BEAST

WHICH LAY DYING
ALONG THE EDGE OF THE WORLD.

THEY COULD SEE ITS BRIGHT BLOOD
RUN INTO THE SKY

WHERE IT DRIED, DARKENING,
AND WAS AT LAST FLECKED

WITH FLAKES OF LIGHT.

[ GUNSHOT ]

THE THING WE HAD TO HAVE,

WE BUSINESSMEN WITH RIFLES,
WAS ONE SHOT KILLS.

WE BASED OUR SUCCESS

ON THE OVERWHELMING STUPIDITY
OF THE BUFFALO,

UNQUESTIONABLY THE STUPIDEST
GAME ANIMAL IN THE WORLD.

IF YOU WOUNDED THE LEADER,
THE REST OF HER HERD,

WHETHER IT WAS THREE OR THIRTY,

WOULD GATHER AROUND HER
AND STUPIDLY MILL.

[ GUNSHOT ]

ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS
PICK THEM OFF ONE BY ONE.

I ONCE TOOK 269 HIDES
WITH 300 CARTRIDGES.

[ GUNSHOT ]

ADVENTUROUS?

NO MORE THAN SHOOTING
A BEEF CRITTER IN THE BARNYARD.

IT WAS A HARVEST.
WE WERE THE HARVESTERS --

FRANK H. MAYER.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

Narrator: FRANK MAYER
AND THOUSANDS OF OTHER

BUFFALO HUNTERS
SWARMED ONTO THE PLAINS.

SOME STOPPED SHOOTING
JUST LONG ENOUGH

TO COOL THEIR OVER-HEATED
RIFLE BARRELS

WITH CANTEENS OF WATER.

WHEN THE WATER RAN OUT,

THEY URINATED DOWN THE BARREL
AND KEPT SHOOTING.

UP AND DOWN THE PLAINS
THOSE MEN RANGED.

BEHIND THEM CAME THE SKINNERS
WITH THEIR WAGONS.

THEY PILED THE HIDES AND BONES
INTO THE WAGONS

UNTIL THEY WERE FULL,

AND THEN TOOK THEIR LOADS
TO THE NEW RAILROAD STATIONS

TO BE SHIPPED EAST TO MARKET.

SOMETIMES THERE WOULD BE A
PILE OF BONES AS HIGH AS A MAN,

STRETCHING A MILE
ALONG THE RAILROAD TRACK --

OLD LADY HORSE.

Narrator: THIRTY-TWO MILLION
POUNDS OF BUFFALO BONES

MADE THEIR WAY FROM THE PLAINS
TO EASTERN FACTORIES,

WHERE THEY WERE GROUND
INTO FERTILIZER.

BUFFALO HORNS WERE TURNED INTO
BUTTONS, COMBS, KNIFE HANDLES.

HOOVES BECAME GLUE.

ALL ACROSS WESTERN KANSAS,
THE SLAUGHTER WENT ON --

PERHAPS AS MANY
AS THREE MILLION BUFFALO KILLED

IN THE TWO YEARS SINCE
THE COMING OF THE RAILROAD.

WHERE THERE WERE MYRIADS
OF BUFFALO THE YEAR BEFORE

THERE WERE NOW MYRIADS
OF CARCASSES.

THE AIR WAS FOUL
WITH A SICKENING STENCH,

AND THE VAST PLAIN,

WHICH ONLY A SHORT TWELVEMONTH
BEFORE TEEMED WITH ANIMAL LIFE,

WAS A DEAD, SOLITARY,
PUTRID DESERT --

COL. RICHARD IRVING DODGE.

Narrator: MANY AMERICANS
GREW ALARMED

AT THE EXTENT OF THE SLAUGHTER.

IN THE SPRING OF 1874,

CONGRESS PASSED A LAW
TO PROTECT THE BUFFALO,

BUT PRESIDENT ULYSSES S. GRANT
REFUSED TO SIGN IT,

AND THE KILLING CONTINUED.

HUNTERS HAD ALREADY
MOVED SOUTH OF KANSAS,

ONTO HUNTING GROUNDS RESERVED
BY TREATY FOR THE INDIANS.

THE GOVERNMENT DID NOTHING
TO STOP THEM,

AND EVEN PROVIDED THE HUNTERS
WITH FREE AMMUNITION.

[ NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING,
DRUM BEATING ]

YOU WHITE PEOPLE
MAKE A BIG TALK,

AND SOMETIMES WAR,

IF AN INDIAN KILLS
A WHITE MAN'S OX

TO KEEP HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN
FROM STARVING.

WHAT DO YOU THINK MY PEOPLE
OUGHT TO SAY AND DO

WHEN THEY THEMSELVES SEE THEIR
BUFFALO KILLED BY YOUR RACE

WHEN YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY?

LITTLE ROBE.

Mayer: THE INDIANS SENSED
THAT WE WERE

TAKING AWAY THEIR BIRTHRIGHT,

AND THAT WITH EVERY BOOM
OF A BUFFALO RIFLE

THEIR TENURE ON THEIR HOMELAND
BECAME WEAKENED

AND THAT EVENTUALLY

THEY WOULD HAVE NO HOMELAND
AND NO BUFFALO.

SO THEY DID WHAT
YOU AND I WOULD DO

IF OUR EXISTENCE WERE
JEOPARDIZED -- THEY FOUGHT.

Narrator: IN THE SUMMER OF 1874,

THE KIOWAS, COMANCHES,
ARAPAHOS AND SOUTHERN CHEYENNE

ROSE UP AND DROVE OUT
THE HUNTERS --

AND ANY OTHER WHITES
THEY CAME ACROSS.

GENERAL PHILIP SHERIDAN
ORDERED A MASSIVE CAMPAIGN,

DEPLOYING FIVE COLUMNS OF TROOPS

TO PURSUE THE INDIANS
RELENTLESSLY

DURING THE SUMMER AND FALL,

DEPRIVING THEM OF REST,
OR THE OPPORTUNITY TO HUNT.

[ BIRD CAWING ]

BY THE NEXT SPRING,

VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE RESISTING
BANDS ON THE SOUTHERN PLAINS --

DESPERATE NOW FOR FOOD --

HAD BEEN DRIVEN BACK
ONTO THE RESERVATIONS.

THE BUFFALO HUNTERS
WENT RIGHT BACK TO WORK.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

WITHIN A YEAR,
THE HERD ON THE SOUTHERN PLAINS

HAD VIRTUALLY DISAPPEARED.

ONE BY ONE,
WE PUT UP OUR BUFFALO RIFLES,

AND LEFT THE RANGES.

AND THERE SETTLED OVER THEM
A VAST QUIET.

THE BUFFALO WAS GONE.

MAYBE WE SERVED OUR PURPOSE
IN HELPING ABOLISH THE BUFFALO.

MAYBE IT WAS OUR RUTHLESS
HARVESTING OF HIM

WHICH TELESCOPED THE CONTROL
OF THE INDIAN

BY A DECADE OR MAYBE MORE,

OR MAYBE I AM JUST
RATIONALIZING.

MAYBE WE WERE JUST A GREEDY LOT
WHO WANTED TO GET OURS,

AND TO HELL WITH POSTERITY,
THE BUFFALO, OR ANYONE ELSE,

JUST SO WE KEPT OUR SCALPS ON
AND OUR MONEY POUCHES FILLED.

I THINK MAYBE
THAT IS THE WAY IT WAS --

FRANK H. MAYER.

Momaday: IT WOULD BE HARD
TO IMAGINE

ANYTHING MORE DEEPLY HURTFUL

THAN THE LOSS OF SOMETHING
INEFFABLY SACRED.

ONE CAN ONLY GUESS AND IMAGINE.

WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T KNOW WHAT
THAT IS NOW.

BUT CERTAINLY A CONFUSION,
FIRST OF ALL, I SUPPOSE.

"WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

"WHY ARE YOU KILLING
THE BUFFALO?

"WE DO THAT, OF COURSE,

"BUT WE DO IT
IN ORDER TO SURVIVE,

AND WE DO IT
IN A SACRED MANNER."

BUT THIS WHOLESALE SLAUGHTER
MUST HAVE BEEN,

FIRST, CONFUSING

AND THEN, YOU KNOW,
A DEVASTATION --

A WOUND IN THE HEART
THAT WE CANNOT CONCEIVE OF NOW.

Old Lady Horse: THE BUFFALO SAW
THAT THEIR DAY WAS OVER.

THEY COULD PROTECT THEIR PEOPLE
NO LONGER.

SADLY, THE LAST REMNANT
OF THE GREAT HERD

GATHERED IN COUNCIL,
AND DECIDED WHAT THEY WOULD DO.

ONE YOUNG WOMAN
GOT UP VERY EARLY

AND PEERING THROUGH THE HAZE,

SHE SAW THE LAST BUFFALO HERD
APPEAR LIKE IN A SPIRIT DREAM.

STRAIGHT TO MOUNT SCOTT
THE LEADER OF THE HERD WALKED.

BEHIND HIM CAME THE COWS
AND THEIR CALVES,

AND THE FEW YOUNG MALES
WHO HAD SURVIVED.

AS THE WOMAN WATCHED,

THE FACE OF THE MOUNTAIN
OPENED.

INSIDE MOUNT SCOTT THE WORLD
WAS GREEN AND FRESH,

AS IT HAD BEEN
WHEN SHE WAS A SMALL GIRL.

THE RIVERS RAN CLEAR, NOT RED.

INTO THIS WORLD OF BEAUTY
THE BUFFALO WALKED,

NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN.

-- CAPTIONS BY VITAC --
BURBANK, PITTSBURGH, WASHINGTON

♪ NOW COME ALONG BOYS
AND LISTEN TO MY TALE ♪

♪ AND I'LL TELL YOU
OF MY TROUBLES ♪

♪ ON THE CHISHOLM TRAIL ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YI YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ I STARTED UP THE TRAIL
OCTOBER 23rd ♪

♪ LEFT OLD TEXAS
WITH A TWO-MULE HERD ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YI YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ OH A $10 HORSE
AND A $40 SADDLE ♪

♪ I'M A-GONNA PUNCH
THEM LONG-HORN CATTLE ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YI YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ WOKE UP ONE MORNING
ON THE CHISHOLM TRAIL ♪

♪ WITH A ROPE IN MY HAND
AND A COW BY THE TAIL ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YI YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ WELL WE ROUNDED 'EM UP
AND WE PUT 'EM ON THE CARS ♪

♪ AND THAT WAS THE LAST
OF THE OLD TWO-BARS ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YI YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ THEN I WENT TO THE BOSS
FOR TO DRAW MY ROLL ♪

♪ HE HAD IT FIGURED
$9 IN THE HOLE ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YI YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ SO I SOLD OLD BOLLY
AND I HUNG UP MY SADDLE ♪

♪ AND I BID FAREWELL
TO THE LONG-HORN CATTLE ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YI YIPPY-YAY ♪

♪ COME-A TI-YI-YIPPY
YIPPY-YAY ♪♪

FOR OVER A DECADE,

GENERAL MOTORS HAS BEEN
THE SOLE CORPORATE SPONSOR

OF THE FILMS OF KEN BURNS.

WE'RE PROUD OF OUR ASSOCIATION
WITH KEN BURNS AND PBS.

IT'S ALL PART OF
GM's COMMITTMENT

TO SHARE
THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

THROUGH QUALITY
TELEVISION PROGRAMMING.

THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN
MADE POSSIBLE BY A GRANT

FROM THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT
FOR THE HUMANITIES.

BY THE CORPORTATION
FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING

AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS
TO YOUR PBS STATION

FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.