The Journey of August King (1995) - full transcript

[ Slow, Low-Pitched Drumbeat ]

[ Hound Baying, Gunshot ]

[ Woman Panting,
Brush Rustling ]

[ Hounds Barking Wildly,
Travelers Chattering ]

[ Man ] It's a
bear! Look at that!

- [ Bear Growling ]
- [ Hounds Barking ]

He's a big one. You get back!

[ Travelers Shouting ]

[ Horse Whinnies ] [
Woman ] Come back here!

[ Woman Shrieks, Bear Roars ]

[ Wild Barking,
Ferocious Growling ]



[ Man ] Get back!

[ Hound Whimpering ]

Gracie.

He was one of my bravest--
scars from 14 battles if a one.

I see 'em. Father
was a huntin' hound.

Mother, a German dog. Tan.

Might live, you doctor it.

Never get the courage
back. I know dogs.

[ Gracie Whimpering ]

He's mangled her
innards! Can't digest bread.

Can chew it anyway.

[ Girl ] Come away, Rebecca. They're
gonna have to send him up to the fields.

- [ Rebecca ] Why they have to do that?
- 'Cause he can't walk anymore.

[ Gunshot ]



Come on. Come on.

[ Boar Squealing ]

[ Narrator ] In the North
Carolina mountains,

the early settlers traveled the roads,
taking their stock down to the market...

and trekking back up again with supplies
and new stock for the months ahead.

Among them was a
man named August King.

He had been waiting
his turn most of his life,

never doing anything much
different from one day to the next.

He was alone on his journey,

walking at his own gait,
slow and steady,

making his way
home. [ Cow Moos ]

M-M-Moo.

Wasn't after you, that old bear.

- [ Goose Hissing ] -
Wasn't after anybody.

[ Whinnies ]

[ Horse Whinnying ]

[ Gasping ]

- It's all right.
- [ Bird Flutters Nearby ]

Lost?

You want to follow this creek...

'til you get to the
bridge by the inn.

That's north.

Will you help me?

Oh, no. Can't do that.

Against the law.

- [ Turkey Gobbling,
Gunshot ] - [ Man #1 ] Did you hit him?

[ Man #2 ] Surely did. Fattest
turkey ever seen the light of day!

[ Man #1 ] Had men tracking
them two days near Pride,

then they lost them.

Fellow says he saw the boy drinking in
the creek down from the bridge a piece.

Heading north, they'll be.

[ Man #2 ] Keeping close to the road,
so as not to lose themselves.

[ Man #3 ] Night. Be movin'
at night with their cat's eyes.

See better in the dark
than they do in the day.

[ Storekeeper ] Well,
August King!

I see you made it another year.

Sorry about your
wife. A sad loss.

I brought the
money for your loan.

[ Woman Barber ] Old Bolt gonna be
cleanest he ever been since he was born.

You paid off a valuable farm now,
August.

- How much you give me for it?
- You sell it?

No. I'm there for life. Just
wonder what it's worth is all.

No river bottomland, that right?

No. It's steep. The rich
ones won't buy steep.

You'd think since they
can afford slaves to work it--

Don't allow slaves,
the community I live in.

Olaf Singletary lost two
slaves a few days ago.

A boy and a girl.

Must be the wealthiest man in
the mountains, don't you agree?

Thought you were.

[ Laughing ] So
how old was the girl?

Did you see her?

I'll be needin' supplies...
and the deed to my land.

The deed to your land! Yes, sir.

Harristown, Harristown.

That's under "H."

Got it right here.

You might mark it paid.

Be best to date it.

Twenty-seven, April,

1815.

* [ Lively Dance Tune ]

[ Mooing ]

* [ Continues ]

* [ Solo Flute Begins
Playing A Gig ]

Who's this long face?
Wanna dance with me?

Whoo. I'm no dancer.

- Then I'll teach you.
- About done from the trail.

Come on.

What's wrong?

It ain't so bad, is it,
that you can't manage a smile for a girl?

I'm sorry.

I want that girl back!

You men find her.
I'll pay for your time.

Let your dogs find her.

It's against the law to
run off like she's done.

What you offerin',
Olaf, for the girl?

Ten acres of land
alongside the river.

- Flood? - No, it won't flood.

My man here'll tell you.

Olaf, you're wantin' us to release our
dogs, do you a favor-- and it's trouble.

Hurts my conscience, too,

to set dogs on people.

You want slaves;
you can tend to 'em.

Five acres more.

That enough on behalf
of your conscience?

And one more thing! We'll have
that Maryland horse you ride.

And the saddle.

- All right.
- [ Man ] What you offerin' for that Sims?

That boy runaway? A grand $70
reward for the man and be damned!

Now I want men watchin'
every river crossin',

and any man found
helpin' them is a dead man.

[ Baby Crying ]

[ Snorts ]

[ Rooster Crows ]

[ Indistinct Yelling ]

[ Woman ] Need sugar too.

Looks like you did pretty
well for yourself at market.

I bought this cow and geese.

The cow at home's old.

Only chickens at my place.

Bought the young boar
to improve my drove.

Managed to make improvements
just about every year.

How far away you live?
About three days if I hurry.

Might not hurry.

[ Man Shouting ] Have they
caught Olaf's runaways yet?

[ August Shouting ] Don't know.

[ Shouting ] That rich man's
offerin' a horse for the girl!

Seems like he'll do most
anything to get her back.

I have ideas about
offerin' a horse for a human.

[ Spits ]

Set dogs on 'em too.

[ Cart Rattling ]

[ Barking ]

Get off there. Get
down! That's enough.

She must have been
in heat! [ Laughs ]

She never wore that.

That's the boy's shirt. Well,
what does she smell like, Olaf?

That's not hers. I told you.

Can we use her a little bit on the way in,
Olaf?

[ Several Men Chuckle ]

I tell you I want her unsullied.

What if she asks for it, Olaf?

Then let her suck your
finger! [ Men Laugh ]

I demand her back unsullied.

* There

* Was an old man
lived up on a hill *

* [ Humming ]

* A-singin' hi-di
diddly-i-fi hee *

* Diddle-i, diddle-i-day

[ Horse Snorts ] * When he
got her down 'bout half a road *

* Old,
old lady she's a hell of a load *

* Singin' hi-diddle-i
diddle-i-fi hee *

[ Whoops ]

* A-diddle-i, diddle-i-day

[ Moos ]

Come here.

Pretty cow.

[ Brush Rustles ]

[ Cow Moos ]

Hey, August!

- What you been doin' in there, August?
- What you think?

[ Sniffs ] Don't I
smell corn bread?

[ Hounds Baying ]

Most everyone on the
road wants that bounty now.

[ August ] Sounds
like they're on a scent.

He's headin' up through
the woods towards here.

You better put
that pig in your cart!

[ Woman Panting ]

[ Hounds Barking ]

What are they tearin' up,
August?

That corn bread too? I think so!

What you got there, damn it?

Where'd they go? Where
in the hell did they get to?

Now,
these dogs struck a trail. Come on!

Corn bread here's still warm.

Bread them dogs
is eatin' warm too.

[ Rattling ]

You want to make camp with us?
A few more stretches and curves.

Need to ask your name
and where you're from.

- I'm August King.
- The one whose woman drew the pictures?

My sister said she was
the best artist in the country.

She could draw a picture faster
than a clown could fall over.

She'd draw me and--

Draw me walkin' down the path.

She used pages
right from the Bible.

Why, that's unholy.

Pages from the Bible unholy?

- To draw on them.
- She used the ones she didn't care for.

She kept Psalms. Used about half
the book of Exodus 'fore she died.

I always wanted her to do
Emily and Alice here... in colors.

Well,
you can't travel in the dark!

[ Cow Mooing ]

Did I offend him?

Reminded him of his wife too often,
I imagine.

Hope I don't die
strange as she did.

[ Cart Rattling ]

[ Slow, Low-Pitched Drumbeat ]

What you stop for?

Three reports of seein' Sims.

Tomorrow we'll--
we'll catch him.

Lord knows,
we'll-- we'll find her too.

Why do you need to find her?

You have so many slaves.

She was like a ray
of-- a ray of light to me.

It was a cool night.

When I woke...

I was holdin' a pillow.

Her-- She was gone.

She's the one
that's supposed to...

tend the fire.

[ Drumming On Pan ]

Why you do that?
[ Drumming Stops ]

Callin' her back,
she near enough to hear it.

World of rumors about...

Africans havin' more than...

five fingers and toes.

You ever hear
that? I heard it's so.

It's not my observation.

She near?

I'll be goin'.

[ Goose Honking ]

[ Whinnies ]

[ Snorts, Neighs ]

[ Footsteps ]

What you want here?

I give you this. You help me.

What you been
doin' followin' me?

You see me yesterday
and don't tell nobody.

Where's the boy
you run off with?

We lost each other.

Won't come outta those bushes?

See, it's a watch.

Silver. For you, if you help me.

Belongs to Olaf Singletary.

He give it me.

Stolen property.

He give it me.

[ Exhales ]

I try all day not to die.

I ate leaves this mornin'.

They went through
me like a fire.

No one ever teach
you how to chew?

No one teach me how to starve.

Your fat owner's camped
back thataway. I can show you.

You had enough freedom
now. What's he doin'?

Take you back in a carriage,
I expect. Seems so anxious to have you.

What's he doin'? I asked you.

Well, he's beatin' on a pan.

There ain't nothin'
funny about him.

Finish that. I'll
get you some milk.

Then you go on your way.

[ Milk Squirting ]

[ Snorts ] [ August ] Hey.

Hey.

[ Softly ] Hey.

[ Slow, Even Breathing ]

[ Yells, Snarls ]

Damn!

I don't allow men
any chance with me.

I just wakin' you up...
and get rid of you.

Man need a rope to get near you.

Come on. Move on outta here...

'fore someone finds you.

[ Softly ] Come on.

[ Crying Softly ]

It's my watch to give anyways.

You sleep in that
cart 'til mornin'.

Then you're gone.

[ Sniffles, Sobs ]

[ Horse Snorts ]

[ Cow Bawls ]

[ Geese Honking ]

[ Hissing ]

Here I am, lonely,
my son's trailin' slow with my cattle,

and I come upon a friend
from my own community.

Been wantin' coffee all
mornin' and not had ary a drop.

Mmm. Oh, my,
how glad I am to meet you.

How are you, August? Tell me.

Wantin' to be on my
way. That's how I am.

And you livin' alone too. It's not
recommended for a man to live alone.

Well, I'll have a solution for
that one of these days now.

What do you do by yourself
to distract your thoughts?

- I read the Bible.
- [ Cattle Bawling ]

[ Visitor ] Here they are.

I'll be goin' now, Fisher.

August? You had a
woman here last night.

You had a woman
here last night. I allow!

Farmer and his wife is all. Yeah,
they were by.

Small feet. Injured feet.

Woman tracks.

Had female company,
August did! [ Laughs ]

And you always so proper,
August.

Ah, she's probably nigh.

Might be in them bushes,
peeing. [ Chuckles ]

[ Cattle Bawling,
Cart Rattling ]

Hey,
August! You left your coffee pot!

[ Drover ] Move on,
move on. Come on, there!

[ Sheep Bleating ]

[ Woman Herding Sheep
] Get along. Get around!

[ Child ] Hello,
mister! Look at the piggie under the cart.

[ Herder ] Slow down,
damn it! You're gonna hit the sheep!

Get out! Go on, sheep!

[ August Yelling At Sheep ]

[ Herder ] That
man's gone crazy!

Come on! Come on,
stay outta there.

Louise,
get back up there and head 'em off.

[ Boar Grunting ]

I am not one for big adventures. I don't
need excitement first thing of a mornin'.

- What they do to you if you help me?
- I'm not gonna find out.

I never made the laws.

I'm simply a one-man farmer.

He gone and burned my
shoes after I runs away first time.

Don't bite me.

[ Cork Pops ]

[ Spitting ] [ Groans Painfully,
Sobs ]

It's gonna heal 'em.

[ Sobs ]

Lay your hands.

Drink that down.

[ Coughing ]

Ever had peach brandy?

There ain't no peaches in that.

[ Laughing ]

I can be so small that nobody
ever gonna see me in your cart.

Stop scratchin'.

But it itches,
and when I itch I can't stop.

Well,
a woman's thighs start a man thinkin'.

How old are you, anyway?

Seventeen.

[ Sighs ] Do you
have any modesty?

Don't you be talkin'
to me like that.

Well, don't you scratch so much.

Anyone finds you,
I'm gonna say I'm takin' you in.

[ Goose Hisses ]

[ Boy ] Come on, boy. Come on.

- What is it, Rusty?
- [ Dog Barking ]

[ Barking Continues
] [ Goose Honking ]

If you won't tell.

It's no need, mister.

But you better not let
Mama and Papa see her.

She ain't hungry, is she?

I think she'd like that.

I ate my apple.

They're lookin' for
her everywhere.

Daniel! Henry! What
you doin' back there?

Come on,
Rusty. Come on. We're waitin' on you!

[ Rusty Barking ]

Sorry, Papa. We saw bear tracks.

- A real big one!
- What you doin' talkin' to that man?

[ Rattling ]

[ Softly ] Hey!

Them boys tell?

I don't believe so.

I didn't want you
gettin' in trouble.

Why you went? Yeah.

[ Cow Mooing ] Never
told me your name.

Williamsburg. He
called me after a town.

Oh, my Lord.

You're not supposed
to be called William,

much less "burg."

Whoa.

I is called Annalees by
most everybody. Or Anna.

You like Annalees?
It's an improvement.

[ Man In Distance ] Come on,
Crosby! Best get in.

[ Cow Moos ]

Get down. Lie down.

More rain comin',
looks like. Right.

[ Toll Collector ] So how are you,
August?

Just common.
You all right? I'll do.

Take him out! He
can't breathe there.

[ Boy ] Yes,
he can. He's gettin' too hot.

Any slave owners come
by? One a while back.

That fat fella? They all fat.

Yeah. All right. [ Little Girl ]
I got slime all over my dress!

Say, August, that sure is a pretty
cow you bought at the market!

Isn't she? Promisin' my wife
for years to buy a new one.

[ Thunder Rumbling ]

[ Cow Moos ] Keep down.

I am keepin' down. Could
be anyone lookin' on.

Them mountains,
they cut my feet wide open.

You cut them open,
blood flows out too.

Life's as bad as
these mountains are.

The blood is the water,
you-all tellin' me?

Every mountain has a life
of its own. [ Insect Buzzing ]

Sarah used to say,
"If it's alive, how do you kill it?"

Who's Sarah?

My wife.

And I'd say, "Well,
you can't kill it."

And she'd say, "If you can't kill it,
how much alive is it?"

That's what she'd say. [ Cow Mooing,
Banging Sound ]

Hey. Whoa. Hold it.

What's the matter?

[ Cow Shuddering ]
You're all tangled up.

[ Moos ]

She waitin' for you
at home? Your wife?

Sarah passed away. How she die?

It's bad to ask.

She lost her footin'... on
a ridge above our house.

They got loose stones there.

God must've caught her, August.

He caught her in His hand.

[ Clicking Tongue
] [ Horse Snorting ]

[ Boar Grunting ]

[ Screeches ]

[ August ] * There was an
old man lived over the hill *

[ Boar Squealing ] * If he
ain't dead he's livin' there still *

* Singin' hi
diddle-i diddle-i-fi *

* A-diddle-i diddle-i-day

* Well,
the devil he comes to steal one day *

* Say your old wife
gonna take her away *

* Singin' hi
diddle-i diddle-i-fi *

[ Joining In Softly ] * Diddle-i-day
hee Diddly-i diddly-i day *

[ August ] * And sang clickety-clack
* [ Annalees Humming Along ]

* On his back

* And diddle-i diddle-i-fi

Ohh!

[ Geese Honking ]

[ Woman ] Anybody
gonna have that outhouse--

That's my Aunt
Louise with my mama.

[ Wagons Rattling, Harness
Jingling ] Maybe they think I'm dead.

Better wait a goodly
while 'til they get on.

Which one of you called out to him,
huh?

You's gonna honk
me right in his lap.

Win me that horse of his.

You thinkin' of it?

Must want you bad,
offerin' land.

I was his house servant.

That different
from a field hand?

Means I wait on
him night and day.

He want his tea.

He want his toast buttered.

He want his fire made.

He want his garden hoed.

He want quiet in his house.
He want his shirt washed.

He's strong as an ox too.

Had a roof over your
head. Why you run away?

Keep him from takin' my soul.

[ Cow Mooing, Geese Hissing ]

You know this cow makes milk
out of fallen leaves? It's a miracle.

Queen of cows.

And you is August King.

Yeah.

[ Honks, Hisses ]

[ Thunder Rumbling ]

I never knew a man
named after a month before.

You get women named June.

April.

May. I knew two Mays. May?

Uh-huh.

July. July King.

August.

I'se called November. My
name is November King.

November King. What
the hell you talkin' about?

[ Laughing ] October King!

[ Shouting ] August King!

- [ Gunshot ] - [ Man Shouting
] The devil's back on us!

[ Dogs Barking ] There he
goes! He ran into the house!

Get around the
side! Plug them holes!

Did you see him? Did he run
through? Who you talkin' about?

The runaway, damn it! Must still
be inside. Boys, let them dogs go.

Sure you seen him? Well,
I seen somethin' move!

Whoa.

They didn't find Sims, did they?

Shadow's all they saw.

They shootin' at him.

Shadows.

They shoot at me?

Can't shoot what
they can't find.

I know what they do to me,
all those men.

I tell you, I jump from off
a cliff 'fore they catch me.

[ Bird Screeching ]

Ah, there you are. Must've
ridden past you earlier on.

- I'm told you caught your girl.
- Not yet.

Know where she is, do you?

Back thataway, I imagine.

Lanky farmer named Fisher.
First man at my camp this morning.

Fellow who looks into every pot. He
told me you camped near me last night.

Don't you remember my
leavin' your fire after dark?

I don't recall.

Yesterday,
two hunters trailed her.

Said she left a trail as
easy to follow as a bear's.

When dark came, they were not more
than a hundred yards from my camp.

She's tryin' to find you,
it looks like.

She must've come near yours.

You think she came
to steal somethin'?

She's not a thief.

I would have sworn!

That farmer-- whatever
his name was--

he said there were footprints.

What does a slave eat, anyway?

Milk?

What do you think she eats?

She eats anything!

What does that matter?
I want to find her!

And she was near here! Near me,
near you-- last night!

Just wonderin' what she might
want to steal from me, that's all.

She's not a thief!

Don't shout at me, Olaf.

[ Chuckles Softly ]

I did expect to find her.

I was certain it was you. I told
people up ahead it was you.

Though I never used your name,
whatever it is. What'd you say?

I said she's with a man with a
full-blood cow tied by a rope to his cart.

I don't much like you usin' me,
Olaf.

[ Sighs ]

[ Horse Neighs ]

[ Rustling ]

Most everybody's
gonna stop you now.

I can disappear
when I get that scared.

Wait'll I get back.

[ Cow Mooing ]

* [ Annalees Humming Softly ]

* [ Continues ]

Where's your mama live?

Why, in his house.

You his daughter?

How's that?

You Olaf's daughter?

Uh-huh.

I hope you don't
go judgin' me for it.

I never broke
with the law before.

All mornin' I been
askin' myself,

"What you doin' this for?"

I imagine there's a reason.

I think so.

You're on your way home,
are you, August?

Been thinkin' so, Mr. Wright.

Come ride with me. I'll tell Hal to
drive your cart home for you, August.

I know you're tired. No.

No, not this time, Mr. Wright.

I'm inviting him to ride with us,
Ida! Hal, you drive his cart.

No. I'll drive my own cart,
Mr. Wright.

He's set in his ways, Ida.

You come by up home to see me,
August.

Come to see Ida.

Who's that? He's
the law up my way.

- And the woman? - His daughter.

[ Thunder Rumbling ]

Never see a white
man cook before.

Learned some... watchin' Sarah.

She had-- had a mind of her own,
she had.

On Christmas I
give her a orange.

It's the first orange
I seen in two years.

She said she would
cook it in a chicken.

And I said, "I think it's best
left to itself. It's all juice."

Went off to the
field. Did my work.

Come Christmas dinner,
I come back. There's Sarah,

our German neighbors...
and this stuffed bird.

It's all mush.

Did you hit her?

No, I never hit Sarah.

Silence--

Silence did come between
us those last two years.

Sometimes...

it seemed like we forgot
each other was there.

But you did love her.

I miss her so much.

I know I did.

My Aunt Louise,
she said she'd tell me what love is.

She never did.

I heard a preacher
say that it is a...

feelin' of need for
another that is overflowin'.

Where do it overflow to?

Hmm. Well, your heart. I guess.

I never have overflowed.

[ Brush Rustling ] [ Man ]
Maybe he's just gone home.

[ Woman ] No,
he must be somewhere out here.

Family up the road
saw you turn in here.

Ida. Hal.

We just come to ask
you to come be with us.

Papa has directed a big supper.

I'm set here... Ida.

You might come talk to him.

Yes. Another time.

I told you.

As you say,
August. Another time.

She your new wife?

You know her long?

Long.

You think she pretty?

What you think?

I never can tell
with a white woman,

'cause they dress so well.

The dresses cover so much.

Can't see more than
a little bitty part of her.

That's all I've ever seen.

You never see her naked?

[ Exhales ]

No, I never have.

Very well, Anna.

[ Woman ] Annabelle, as long as we get to the
field by sunrise, we could set up and start.

[ Another Woman ] My girls
were lookin' forward to the dance.

Stay with us! River'll go
down by half if we wait.

Gotta get home. Animals to feed.

Good luck.

[ Softly ] We have to cross now.

That boar would kick you to
death inside. I'll leave him tied.

Hey.

They saw Olaf's girl.

How's that? His girl.

His men are runnin' through
the laurels right now. Where?

There you go.
Right at the crest.

Men had her. Cart
with a milk cow tied to it.

- [ Man ] Get the horses!
- [ August ] Come on.

[ Boar Squealing ]

[ Squealing Continues ]

- August! - [ Horse Shrieks ]

Don't let your boar
go! I'll hold the cart!

No need! He's lame!

He ain't lame! I saw
him walk to the ford!

[ Horse Neighs ]

[ Bystander ] Lend a hand here.

[ August ] I got it!

[ Panting ]

[ Exhales Loudly ]

We're near home.

I always begin to breathe
easier when I'm near home.

I wish I was safe somewhere.

I will see to it.

I, uh...

never have promised
much in my life.

But I promise to make you safe.

Somethin' I've taken ahold of.

[ Boy ] Come on. Come on,
ducks, come on.

* [ Fiddle, Flute,
Dulcimer Playing Dance Music ]

[ Boy ] Come on.

Come on. Come here.

[ Yelling, Laughing ]

* [ Continues ] [
Man Muttering ]

[ Muttering ] [ Screaming ]

[ Man ] Turn around, folks. See
the fight. See the fight for a penny.

For a penny, see a fight between the
vicious mountain bobcat and a killer dog.

Do I have any bets? I got one. Yes,
sir.

Three pennies on the bobcat.

Got five on the bobcat.
Three over here.

Macy,
looks like they caught that runaway.

[ Hogs Squealing,
People Chattering ]

What she say? Is Sims there?

I can see him. You stay in
there and don't come out.

[ Clamoring ]

Git!

[ Clamoring Continues ]

Stand aside. Out
of my way! Look out.

[ Bobcat Growling, Dog Barking ]

[ Olaf ] String
him up like a hog!

[ Olaf ] So you
took her with you?

[ Olaf ] Where is Anna?

[ Olaf ] Answer me, goddamn you!

[ Sims ] We went our ways!

- You keep down! You hear me?
- [ Olaf ] Who did she go with?

[ Sims ] She ain't
go with no one!

[ Olaf ] Who took her?

Answer me!

Did you touch her?

No.

[ Screeching ]
Did you touch her?

- No-o-o!
- [ Olaf ] Damn you! Damn you to hell!

[ Ax Striking,
Onlookers Screaming ]

[ Moaning ]

[ Birds Squawking ]

[ Baby Crying ]

- [ Sobbing ] - [ Whinnies ]

[ Sobbing ]

[ Buzzing ]

[ Whinnies ]

[ Baaing ]

[ Geese Honking ]

Geese want to nest.
They gonna get us caught?

Might do it.

Whoa!

Shh. Shh! [ Honking ]

[ Hissing ]

They'll be all right. Geese
can protect themselves.

Tomorrow I'll come
back and get them.

[ Honking Continues ]

[ Man #1 ] They can be Satan's children,
of course, with their coloring.

[ Man #2 ] That's right. They could
be the ones God cast out from heaven.

[ Man #3 ] I don't believe that boy knew
where she was, else he would've told.

[ Man #2 ] He'd have left her behind,
being able to travel faster on his own.

[ Man #1 ] On account of
no loyalty between them.

[ Man #2 ] Yeah. They don't have not
much soul. [ Man #3 ] They got no soul all.

[ Man #1 ] Some say they do. All the
children of Abraham, says the Bible.

Equal souls,
if a soul can be measured.

Nothing developed. Butternut to an apple,
I'd say.

We can't cross the cart here.

We'll leave it
back in the trees.

[ Horse Whinnies ]

[ Hound Baying ]

[ Barking ]

[ Cows Mooing,
Cowbells Clanking ]

It's all as beautiful
as God's hand.

[ Cowbells Continue,
Horses Whinnying ]

You see that ridge?

Start of the trail to the North.

Trees marked by
people who will feed you.

Tomorrow,
I'll set you on your way.

You will like it there, Anna.

There's streets of gold?

Yes.

I'll see Sims there.

[ Horse Whinnies ]

[ Hounds Baying, Howling ]

[ Howling, Yelling ]

Home.

Home.

Oh!

[ Gasps, Screams ]

[ Screaming, Yelling ]

[ Panting ]

I made those buildings.

Fitted them together myself.

Took better part of four years.

[ Sighs ]

Come on.

[ Thunder In Distance ]

[ Shivering ]

[ Thunder Continues ]

I have some balm for
those bites and scratches.

[ Thunder Intensifies ]

I can't get to them.
Will you do me?

Hey, you ain't supposed to
use that finger. It's bad luck.

There's a dry shirt
in the other room.

I was wrong to put this on,
huh? It was special to both of you.

No, it's not that.

Would never be safe
for you to stay here.

I know.

I has to find my
own life in the North.

Shoes, you'll need.

- I can't wear them.
- You have to on the trail.

Uh-uh, not with her ghost shoes.

You need shoes. Not them.

How are you gonna get to the
North if you don't have shoes?

You said that they the shoes that she die
in. You said that she slip on these stones--

that she fall all the way down.

No!

She wasn't wearing
these shoes when she died.

I found them on the rock ledge
where she laid them neatly.

She was always of a practical mind,
Sarah was.

Strong shoes.
Valuable to someone.

She was grievin' the baby.

Just wouldn't
believe he was dead.

Our baby.

She held it in her
arms for three days.

I had to take it.

Dug a hole up on the hill.

Laid her in it.

She was so tiny.

Tiny.

I couldn't throw
the dirt on her.

So Sarah did.

She was so--

And her eyes were
never the same.

And she never forgave me.

She never forgave herself.

I wish I could've saved her.

Save me.

Are you ready?

Trail's been used
for years. It's marked.

People show you
kindness on the way.

You'll likely get tired,

but don't stop, Annalees.

Just remember all
the progress you made.

So you be off now.

Always stay above the crest.

Don't bite anyone.

All right.

August King.

You'll find it.

[ Footsteps Approaching ]

Well, they found your cart.

Found my cart?

It's near Hobbs community,
near Olaf Singletary's holding.

Someone stole it, did they?

I left it by the creek
with my horse.

Nein,
no horse. There's no horse at all.

Well, where's my horse?

Look at me,
August. Are you daft?

The cart-- The cart is not
empty of its supplies, is it?

Why, there's nothing in it.

And the geese?

What of my geese?

[ Exhales ] It's gone.

Ida,
you want to be here for certain?

I hear you've taken
several road losses.

I'm left in dire shape,
if the truth be known.

A calamity can come on any man.

An odd spirit takes over.

You can touch a person
with your bare hand,

and his spirit can
come into you.

I've heard that said.

Olaf Singletary came to see me earlier this
morning, determined to find this girl of his.

But I suppose he hasn't come yet,
has he? I've not seen him here.

- And she's not here. - No.

Well, there.

Just as I told him.

And you don't know where she is,
do you, August?

I don't know.

There, you see.

And you've not seen her
anywhere along the way?

Yes, I have seen her.

You saw her, but you didn't help
her. It's against the law to help her.

I know it is.

I suppose you think...

I'm not involved.

But I am...

because people--
even this morning--

have come through my gate...

and said laws have been broken,

property rights violated.

A spell came over me,
Mr. Wright.

I did a hundred things strange,
nothin' customary.

You explain it to me.

[ Horse Whinnies ]

[ Mr. Wright ] Well,
what say we prepare a defense?

Is there to be a trial?

Of a type.

I suppose many a person...

might steal a good cow,
and once word went out,

the thief might
have slaughtered it.

As for the boar,
you were caught in the river's current.

And then this girl ran out of the bushes,
and you did what any decent body would do.

You agreed to take
her to Olaf Singletary.

The geese?

Forget the geese.

They flew away up on the ridge.

I saw them myself, flying away.

No one will burn this man's
house because of geese.

Burn my house?

[ Horse Snorts ] [ Olaf
] You men stay here.

This is no place for women.

She's known her
own mind since a girl.

[ Sighs ]

You have her?

He saw her for a
few minutes last night,

and then she ran off on
the way to your house.

I won't accept that.

I will accept her. That's all!

She's not here,
Olaf, as I told you.

Where is she?

Now, there's no need for this.

We have talked to this
poor man a long while,

and I assure you,
she is not here.

And as you told me, you yourself
examined his cart, and so did I.

Please.

Where is Anna?

He can't tell you that.

[ Olaf Sighs ]

Wh-- Where did you see her?

At a creek.

I first saw her three
mornings ago near the gap.

Then she came to my camp,

and I felt sorry for her.

Since my wife died,
I've been lost,

and I was needin' help
as much as anybody.

I gave her some bread, milk...

and I brought her
along the road.

He can't be trusted
to tell the truth.

He's not accountable, Olaf.

[ Mr. Wright ] No!

It's all right. It's all right.

I'll not deny what I did.

I don't want to be...

only what I was.

[ Exhales ]

[ Whinnies ]

I'll burn him out. It's the law.

Well, burn him out,
if it pleases you.

It seems not to matter to him,
so why ought it matter to me?

I wash my hands of him.

He's got the prophet's
look about him.

He cares not a
whit for property.

He never mentioned the barn,
August.

If you want any dresses,
Mina, you better go get 'em.

We can at least try and stop them,
August.

Olaf made his deal:
house for the girl.

I was right well-to-do.

All in a day or two,
I've lost everything.

But I've never been so proud.

[ Woman ] * Fly away

* Little pretty bird

* Fly

* Fly

* Away

* Fly away

* Little pretty bird

* And pretty

* You'll always stay

* I see in your eyes

* A promise

* Your own tender love

* You'll leave

* But fly

* Away

* Little pretty bird

* Cold this way

* Love's own tender flames

* Warms this meeting

* And love's tender songs

* You sing

* But fly away

* Little pretty bird

* And pretty

* You'll always be