Bonanza (1959–1973): Season 2, Episode 12 - The Savage - full transcript

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Haddon.

Those pig-stickers mean
what I think they mean?

Yeah, Indian for barbed wire.

Why?

Oh, graves.

Indians hereabout believe their
ancestors are buried yonder.

They call it
the Mountain of the Dead.

Sort of a sacred burial ground?

Yeah, I guess
you might say that.



Even the Indians
won't go much past here.

Hey, wait a minute.

We're not going
in there, are we?

Of course we're going in there.

Burial ground
or no burial ground,

that's the best fur-trappin'
country west of the Missouri.

No.

The white trappers
passed the lances!

They set foot on the mountain!

They were punished.

We are not here to take scalps,

but to find the spirit
of White Buffalo Woman.

Dako...

you are my son,
but I ask that you go beyond



the place
of the Forbidden Stone

to seek the spirit.

If my brother is to go
beyond the Forbidden Stone,

I will go with him, my father.

You know that you go
to your death?

We know, Father.

Dako...

Tolka...

By these tokens of my medicine,

the spirit woman
will know you, my sons.

You must not fail.

Our lives are pledged, Father.

Let the lances remain,

as a warning to others.

I wouldn't.

Because we've got cattle
to move, that's why!

We've got fences to build,
timber to cut!

- What do you mean, "I wouldn't"?
- What I'm trying to

- tell you is... -Right now this
is Yorktown, Bunker Hill

and Valley Forge
all rolled into one.

I'll say this just once more.

This is no time for a trip
to Nevada City!

- Pa's winning.
- It's the only time!

If I miss
Ira Fairbanks this trip,

who knows when I'll get another
chance to see his windmill?!

Listen, anytime Adam's
talking like that, he's winning.

Now, you know as well as I

that we have roundup
facing us next week,

and you talk to me
about windmills!

Yes, windmills!
And you know as well as I

that it'll take a miracle
to get the water up

on that north section, and
Fairbanks' windmill might be it!

Fairbanks' windmill!

All this man has is a theory!

We know nothing about him
or his reputation!

Now, you can't
leave us shorthanded

just to go to talk to a man
who's probably a-a crackpot!

- Crackpot?
- Yes, crackpot!

A long time ago,
a man fooled around

with a thing he called
a cotton gin.

His name was Whitney, and
they called him a crackpot, too.

And they said the same thing
about a man called Watt,

until his steam engine
made history!

And before that, there was a man
who thought the world was round.

You missed one.

Who?

In-between those last
two gentlemen you mentioned,

there was another man who rode
around looking for windmills,

and his name was Don Quixote,
and he was a crackpot!

You and your education!

Education is progress.

Now, what have
you got against it?

I don't have anything
against education...

as long as it doesn't
interfere with your thinking!

All right.

Just get back
as soon as you can.

Thanks, Pa.

Hey, Adam,

what...

Nice day for a ride.

Hey, Pa, I'd have bet
you'd have won that argument.

Windmills!

Well...

guess a man just has
to do something about 'em.

Listen to me!

You must hear my words!

Come down!

Spirit woman.

I carry the medicine
of the Shoshone...

and the power of our shaman,

my father Chato.

Our people die in their lodges.

We have need of your medicine.

I am sorry that
your people are sick,

but there is nothing
I can do for them.

I have already vouched my life.

My people wait.

- I am sorry.
- I promised to bring you back.

You are flesh.

Y-Y-You... you are as I,

as other people.

Even as a young squaw
of our tribe.

Please, you must not do that.

You must not touch me.

I touch you...

and I live.

My father would
not believe that...

I don't care about your father!

Let me be!

I will take you to my father!

He must see that you are nothing
but a white squaw...

that you cannot
help the Shoshone...

that your very presence here
on this mountain of our dead

- is a shame and a desecration!
- Get away from me!

I don't care about
your superstitions.

They're not for me!

I know what would happen
in your village.

You would kill me!

Squaw...

I would kill you here and now.

Put it down!

I said put it down!

Who are you?

Help me.

Come back!

Who are you?

I couldn't hurt you
if I wanted to.

If I wanted your life,
I would not have returned.

Will you tell me who you are?

I'm called White Buffalo Woman.

White Buffalo Woman?

The spirit woman of the legends
of the Plains Indians?

I hope you know
what you're doing.

Don't move.

Thanks.

The Great White Warrior.

Hello?

Hello?

Anyone here?

"Olaf Halversen,

"born 1810,

"Bergen, Norway.

"Married Elizabeth Carr,

"Bridgeport, Connecticut,

"1838.

"Daughter Ruth

"born August 3, 1840.

Wife died, 1846."

"July 14.

"We left St. Joe this morning.

"The soldier said it was
too late in the season to start,

"but Daddy laughed at them.

"He is not afraid,
for at home in Norway,

"he was... used to hard winters
and heavy snow in the mountains.

"October 8.

"Our axle is broken,
and Daddy left yesterday

"in the morning
and hasn't come back yet.

It is cold, and we can hear
the howling of the wolves."

That blade would not have missed
in the lodge of a Bannock.

And in the home of...

Ruth Halversen?

You heard my name?

The White Buffalo Woman
is a myth.

But Ruth Halversen is,
or was, real.

Go.

Remember this...

you are here
because you helped me.

Stay until you can travel,

but keep away from me, or
I'll forget I owe you anything.

In other words, welcome.

Aside from your
many other accomplishments,

I see you also run a trap line.

I trade the pelts for supplies.

Well, now, I'm
a fair hand with hides.

Um, could I help?

Until I can travel, you're
gonna have to put up with me.

Now, there's no reason
why we can't...

try to understand each other.

How?

We could start
with Ruth Halversen.

Ruth Halversen was a child.

What happened after
your father left the wagon?

I never saw him again.

In the spring, a Bannock
hunting party found me.

They took me to their village.

I stayed there as one of them.

Until the hunters came.

White hunters.

They wanted our furs.

And when we refused,

they attacked us.

All the braves...

the women, the children...

they killed.

I...

I found my way here...

to the Mountain of the Dead.

A Shoshone saw me.

Told his people he had seen
White Buffalo Woman

raised from the grave.

To them, I'm
a great spirit woman.

Until today, they have
left me in peace here,

in my own world,

to live my own life.

Ruth, the only real life for you

is with your own people.

Since the Bannocks died,

I have no people.

Shaman.

Where are my sons?

We waited at the place
of the Forbidden Stone.

There is no sign
of Dako or Tolka.

They would have returned
by now, if they could.

My sons have failed.

But perhaps where a son fails...

a father can succeed.

I will go to
the Mountain of the Dead.

We shall go with you, Shaman.

And they call this
the Mountain of the Dead.

What do you want?

Uh... uh, nothing.

Uh, it doesn't matter.

Wait.

Is something wrong with you?

No, there's, uh,
nothing wrong with me.

That's just it.

Then what is it you want?

Well, I, uh...

There was a razor
with your Bible.

I, uh...

Well, it can wait.

Why do you want a razor?

Well, for shaving.

Shaving?

Well, if you can't remember it,

it's, uh, it's a little
difficult to describe.

- You see, most men...
- I know.

I remember watching my father.

I'll get it for you.

Uh, no, no, no, no.
It can wait.

There is something the matter.

What is it?

Um...

my education, uh...

just interfered with
my thinking for a minute.

Uh, but it's all right.

- Pa.
- Hmm?

Pa, Adam's horse just came in.

Adam's horse?

Yes, sir, and he's still
got the saddle on him.

There's no marks on him,
Pa, no nothing.

Horse seems to be all right.

Yeah, nobody's ridden him
for a while, either.

Yeah.

Fool boy probably got down
for water.

Come on, Pa,
you know better than that.

Pa, I think we ought
to go after him.

Joe, you... get some food ready.

- Right, Pa.
- Hoss, saddle up the horses.

Better bring a spare.

My father had a big strap
to make his razor sharp.

Does it hurt?

A little.

Has to be done, though.

Otherwise, the beard'd be
down to here.

Uh, some men let
their beards grow,

but, uh, others shave them off.

Ouch.

I think you would be better off
with your beard down to here.

You know, I think
maybe you're right.

You're very nice when you smile.

You've done enough.

I can finish.

It looks much better.

Naturally--
it takes a real engineer.

Let me help you.

Ah!

Anytime.

Sit down.

Building a roof with one leg.

Man has to earn his keep.

Not with a wound like this.

Do you know
what your name means?

My name?

Ruth.

Means compassion, pity.

Until now, I never believed it.

You will be able
to leave very soon.

Why are you afraid of me?

I fear no man.

Ruth?

You forgot this.

No, Kaska, no.

Do you, too,
wish to be struck down

by the medicine
of the White Buffalo Woman,

as my son was?

Her powers are greater
than all the medicine

of the Shoshone.

That is why she must go
back with us.

Only she can save our people
from the great sickness.

Tiowa, Kaska...

find her camp,
then return to me.

"And a certain man
of Bethlehem-Judah went

"to sojourn
in the country of Moab,

he and his wife
and his two sons."

You read very well.

The Old Testament, Book of Ruth.

Like you, she, uh, she had gone
into a strange land.

"And the name of the man was..."

"...Elimelech,

and the name of his wife--
Naomi."

"Entreat me
not to leave thee..."

"...or to return
from following after thee."

A long time ago,
my father used to read it to me.

That part of my life
died with him.

Finish the quotation.

"For whither thou goest
I will go,

and where thou lodgest
I will lodge."

"And thy people shall be
my people

and thy God, my God."

Ruth...

Come back with me.

Back... where?

Where you belong.

Leave White Buffalo Woman
where she belongs,

with the graves of the past.

I found peace here.

The people who are buried here
have found peace.

What you've found
is a hiding place.

What can your world offer me
that I don't have right here?

People of your own kind.

I know nothing but evil
of my father's people.

Look, Ruth, you say this is
your home, where you belong.

Well, it, it can't be.

Why can't it be?

Because you're alone.

I have a... a stubborn father
and two hardheaded brothers.

And to me they're home,
no matter where they live.

Well, I, I have no one.

On this mountain
you're a legend,

and a legend leads
a lonely life.

In the world out there,
you wouldn't be alone.

Music, books, sound of laughter.

All you have to do is...
is come back

and let me do the rest.

Ruth, come back with me.

No, no, let me be.

Ruth, Ruth,
you can't keep on running.

Whatever you're hiding from
must be faced, and now!

I can't.

- Please let me go.
- Ruth, tell me.

Ruth, tell me now,
what really happened?

Two of those men caught me.

I fell and, and they were,

they were there, laughing.

They grabbed me,
and one of them...

one of them hit me and...

I got my hand on a knife.

His face.

He screamed...

and I broke away and ran.

I ran.

And now you can forget it.

Chato, Shaman of the Shoshone,

brings you tribute.

I accept your tribute, Chato,

but not your presence here
with your warriors.

Only the spirit
of the Great White Buffalo Woman

can conquer the sickness
that has come to our lodges.

My heart cries for your people,

but the White Buffalo Woman
must stay here

with the ashes of the past.

The ashes of the past,
or the lies of the white man?

To the spirit woman, Chato,
all men are brothers.

It is for me to judge

who is welcome
on the Mountain of the Dead.

You have my answer.

Take your warriors.

You must go.

Not without you.

But Adam, don't you understand?

They'll kill you.

I won't go without you.

Then we'll find a way
past the Shoshone together.

Wait here and watch.

When the white man is alone,
take him alive.

She will hear my words...
or watch him die.

Dear Lord,
accept these souls into Heaven.

May they rest in peace
forever and ever.

Amen.

Well, from the signs,
Adam got this far.

But he didn't meet the same fate
these two trappers did.

Well, where do you think
he'd go from here?

Must have gone
into the mountain.

Adam would know
better than that.

Yeah, maybe he had no choice.

Well, we're not going
to find him

standing around here.

You weren't asleep at all.

Didn't you ever hear
of the spider and the fly?

Now I know
why they gave me my name.

My folks must have known that

I belonged
in the Garden of Eden.

I wonder if they knew
about me...

...and the Shoshone.

Ruth...

we'll leave tonight.

I want you to have something.

When a man is betrothed
to a woman...

...he gives her a ring.

And as long as
she wears that ring,

they belong to each other.

Adam, I will be your wife.

I love you very much.

Love...

honor...

and obey.

I kind of like that last word.

That last word,
Mr. Cartwright,

we'll talk about
when I get back.

Adam?

It's a beautiful ring.

Adam?

Joe?

We must have missed something.

There's only one thing to do.

Go back to where
we buried those trappers

and start all over again.

And turn over every rock,
if we have to.

Shall I bring
the spirit woman now?

No, Kaska.

The spirit woman must come
to us willingly.

She won't come here.

She will for you.

It won't work.

You got the wrong bait.

She is here.

Ruth, get out of here.

You dare violate
the sacred lodge

of White Buffalo Woman?

You would not hear my words.

And this one?

Do the Shoshone make war
with the wounded?

My people must have the medicine
of the spirit woman,

or they will die.

And the white man?

He will die...

unless you go with us.

Release him,
or you will die now

by the hand
of White Buffalo Woman.

Then destroy us now.

We will not go without you.

My people need you.

Ruth, don't.

Stop!

Spare his life,

and you shall have the medicine
of White Buffalo Woman.

Cut him loose.

Ruth, you can't.
I won't let you do it...

Ruth.

Ruth! Ruth, no! Don't! Run!

Get out of here, Ruth!

Ruth! Go!

Wither thou goest,

I will go.

I'm ready, Shaman.

When we are beyond the Mountain
of the Dead,

take him to the camp
of the spirit woman.

He will find his way back
to his people.

I am ready, Shaman.

We must hurry, Spirit Woman.

Already, too many
of our people lie dead.

Even your sons.

Even my sons.

We will do all we can
for the Shoshone who still live.

Pa! Hoss!

Adam?

Let's turn him over.

Easy. Easy with him.

Adam?

Pa?

Yeah.

Ruth?!

Easy, boy.

Dat-gone, Adam.

Looks like
you tangled with a grizzly.

Yeah, and got beat.

The Shoshone took Ruth.

Who?

Girl that saved my life.

She lives here.

A girl here?

Fever.

She's not imaginary.

She's real.

Her name is Ruth Halversen.

There's a Bible in the hut.

How come
the Shoshone took her, Adam?

They thought she was a spirit.

A reincarnation of one
of their gods.

I'm going after her.
I got to find her.

You try to stop me, I'll walk
all over you, both of you.

Pa?

Found a Bible.

Some writing in the front.

An Olaf Halversen.

Daughter Ruth, born 1840.

Oh, something inside,
marking a page.

I gave her this ring.

I wanted to marry her.

If she left

this ring behind,

then she must have gone
of her own free will.

She did it to save my life.

That's why
I've got to go after her.

And if you do that,

you sign her death warrant,
for sure.

Oh, she... she's a girl.

She's not a spirit woman,
that's true.

But the Shoshone believe she is.

And if you destroy that belief
in her,

you destroy her.

You destroy them, too.

That's right, Adam.

If they believe in her
that strongly,

then, maybe she'll be able
to be of some help to them.

You've got to let her go
for now, Adam.

Maybe someday...

Come on, let's get some food.

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