Centennial (1978–1979): Season 1, Episode 11 - The Winds of Death - full transcript

The American West of the early 20th
century had seen many men come and go.

The first, like the Arapaho
Chief, Lame Beaver,

were true custodians
of the land.

Taking only what they
needed and giving thanks

for a world they knew
they could never own.

The white men who came later, like
the French trapper, Pasquinel,

and the Scotsman,
Alexander McKeag,

also understood the
delicate balance

that must be kept between the dictates
of nature and the needs of man.

The lesson was learned,
too, by some who came west

for one reason and found
another for staying.



Like Levi Zendt and
Maxwell Mercy.

There were others whose efforts
helped evolve a system of land use

which was one of the most
advantageous in the world.

The vast plains were
reserved for cattle.

And the ranchers, like John
Skimmerhorn and Jim Lloyd,

superintended the
range carefully,

knowing that their
fortunes depended entirely

on the health and vigor
of the grasslands.

The rancher's partner was the
irrigation farmer, like Hans Brumbaugh,

who took the lands along the
rivers and led water to them,

creating gardens out of deserts

and multiplying fiftyfold the value
of the land in a single summer.

It was a fruitful partnership, for each
could use what the other could not.

Life was simple and placid.



And, had it been allowed
to develop unimpeded,

it would have converted this part of
America into a lasting preserve of beauty.

But change was
already on its way.

Predators began to
stream westward.

A breed concerned with only the
riches they could take from the land.

The kind of men content with nothing
less then reaping obscene profits

from barren land,

without any concern for its
health and its future.

Near the end of the 19th
century, a Minnesota businessman

named Soren Sorenson disappeared
from the face of the earth.

And a family named Wendell founded
its future power and prestige

on 5,500 stolen
dollars and a murder.

By the year 1911, the railroads
were heralding the promised land,

encouraging hordes of
Americans to go west

and file a claim and take their
share of riches from the land.

To take more when they
could, and more and more.

And those who came had
no way of knowing

how greatly they would upset the
balance between man and nature.

And how close they would come to
destroying a major portion of the nation

and themselves.

This way, ladies and gentlemen.
Right over here.

Over here, everyone.
I'm Mervin Wendell.

Slap your brand on
a hunk of land.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, what can
I say but welcome to Centennial,

where no hard-working,
God-fearing, family-loving man

ever failed to prosper.

Now, then. Are we
all accounted for?

The Swensons?

Ah, yes.

And the Volkemas, yes.

Zorinskys? The Facerhults,

the Grebes?

The land commissioner is waiting
for us at the line camp.

He has the plats of the town
we're going to build there.

But more importantly,

he has the surveyor's maps
from which you will choose

your own free land.

Ladies and gentlemen,
I'd like to say

that your presence here stamps
you as men and women of vision.

Men and women who want
the bounty of life

and are bold enough
to go after it.

I know such people like
to travel in style,

so how do you like those? Do
they suit you well enough?

Before long, you'll all have one
or possibly two of your own.

Don't worry about your bags.

They'll go straight to the hotel.
Just follow me.

Wait a minute. Wait,
wait, wait a minute.

There's something
you ought to know.

That free land that you'll be
looking at is in the dry lands.

And you can't make a
living in the dry lands.

People tried in the
'80s and they failed.

They lost everything.
Some even their lives.

Thank you very much for such a
neighborly concern, Mr. Brumbaugh.

You'll find everyone
here in Centennial

looks out for the welfare
of his fellow citizens.

But we mustn't any of us forget

the progress that has been
made since the 1880s.

We mustn't forget the methods
of the man who has proved

what can be done
on dryland farms.

I'm referring, of course, to Dr.
Thomas Dole Creevey.

He has proved that if you
follow his principles

any land with topsoil

and as little as 12
inches of rain per year

can be turned into a
veritable Garden of Eden.

Made in fact to produce up to
30 bushels of wheat per acre.

Sod crop. Any sod in the world
will produce a crop the first year

the sod's broken.

But you have to think
ahead to the dry years.

Ladies and gentlemen,
perhaps you should meet

these two concerned
neighbors of yours.

This is Mr. Hans Brumbaugh.

Mr. Brumbaugh came to Centennial years
ago with only his two bare hands.

He took up his free land.
Just as you can today.

And he planted potatoes and
he planted sugar beets.

Mr. Brumbaugh is
now a millionaire.

I had a river.

This other gentleman is Mr.
Jim Lloyd.

He arrived in this
land of prosperity

without a penny in
his pocket either.

Then he took up the free land
for grazing for his cattle,

and now, he's a
millionaire, too.

'Course, he married
the boss's daughter,

and that didn't
hurt either, huh?

Why don't you tell these
people here how you got rich?

Mr. Lloyd, I'm never
ashamed to share

what Centennial has done
for me and my family.

Are you not ashamed of the fact
that you've been buying up land

from people like these
for 25 cents an acre

after they find out it isn't quite so
easy to farm it as you said it was?

The people who quit sold me their land.
That's business.

But the ones who didn't quit

have proved everything Dr.
Creevey and I stand for is true.

And that, ladies and
gentlemen, is big business.

The truth is no one can farm
this land without water.

The truth, Mr. Brumbaugh, I'm afraid,
is becoming more and more obvious.

You and Mr. Lloyd have
the land you need,

and now you wish to keep these
good people from getting theirs.

My friends, let's go home.
Gentlemen.

Are you convinced we're wrong?

Dead wrong. You're
tearing up the sod.

You can't farm this
land that way.

Well, Dr. Creevey does it.

He has every kind of
support from the railroad.

The more people they bring
to settle out here,

the more money they
stand to make.

But I've seen the crops
he's grown myself.

On the dry lands in Nebraska.

Yeah.

And when the dry years come, even
Creevey'll be wiped out. It can't be done.

Mr. Grebe.

Here we are, ladies
and gentlemen.

Beautiful, isn't it?
Just step right out.

Ladies, just step out.

What do you think?

Dear Lord, it's so desolate.

Oh, not when there are barns
and windmills and trees

and splendid houses
dotting the horizon.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd
like to introduce to you

Mr. Walter Bellamy. He's
our land commissioner.

And if you'll just
follow him inside,

he has the maps and plats
for you to review.

Alice?

Big, isn't it?

It's empty.

That's what we're here for.
To fill it up.

Mr. Grebe. Yes, sir?

I know the land around here pretty well.
Mind a suggestion?

I'd be obliged.

Check out the parcels up
near Rattlesnake Cliffs.

Rattlesnakes?

It's only an Indian name, Mrs.
Grebe.

No rattlesnakes around here
now, or Indians either.

Mostly Baptists.

It's been a while, Clara.
Forgive me.

The harvest, you know.

Good. It was a
real good harvest.

As good a harvest as we've had.

Guess what?

They've asked me to go to England
to talk about irrigation.

Isn't that something?

Sometimes I wonder why

someone like you is
taken, and I stay.

Well,

all I can think of is that

God still thinks I
have work to do.

So I'm always out,

looking to see what it is

and doing the best I can.

But I'm an old man, Clara.

And I miss you so.

Auf Wiedersehen, Clara.

Señor Brumbaugh? Hi.

I'm Serafina Marquez.
Tranquilino's wife.

Tranquilino's wife?
Well, where is he?

He couldn't come. The war.

The war? He's in the revolution?
Tranquilino?

He wanted me to tell you, you
are in his heart always.

I thought he was dead.

I did, too. For over six years.

What happened?

When he left you, some men in
Denver said he stole from them.

Stole... It was a lie,

but he was sent to prison.

In prison? Here in Colorado?
For six years?

Yes.

Well, why didn't
he get word to me?

I could've helped him. I
could've gotten him out.

He was ashamed. Ashamed?

And he was afraid that you
wouldn't believe him.

Tranquilino's the most honest
man I've ever met. Ever!

He sent you here to me?

He said that we would
be safe with you.

Well, by gosh, by gosh.

This can't be Victoriano?

Truinfador. Victoriano
is with his father.

And...

This is Soledad.

Well, well, well, come on, come
on, my car's down here, huh.

When did you get here?

How did you know I was here?

Well, well. Come on,
come on, come on.

Well, I'm glad to see you...

All right, come on out.

Careful.

Hey, we found a beautiful place.
How about you?

Oh, just what we wanted.

Nine hundred and sixty acres.

Nine? But we're only
entitled to 320 apiece.

Don't worry. I have the chalk.

Chalk?

What's the only requirement
to be a homesteader?

To be over 21, right? Right.

Well, Lida? Peter?

Within six months you
must give me proof

that you have taken up actual
residence on your land.

If you do so, it will be yours

three years from this
date, in fee simple.

Understood?

I'm filing for the half-section
just north of my papa's.

I'm filing for the half-section
just south of my papa's.

I'm sorry, Mr. Volkema,
if you didn't understand.

But a claim can't
be filed by anyone

who isn't over age 21.

I understand, Mr. Bellamy.

Are you young
people over age 21?

Yes, sir.

Do you solemnly swear in the
presence of almighty God

that you are over age 21?

I do.

I am.

I'm sorry, Mr. Volkema.

I'm afraid I'm going to
require some sort of proof.

I am their mother. And I
know when they were born.

And I swear to you

on the good name of
my dear sweet mother

that as my two children
stand before you,

they are both over age 21.

Well, wish your father
happy birthday, Philip.

Happy birthday, Father.

Thank you, my boy.

And a happy birthday it is.

Do you know, every one of
those Iowa farmers signed up?

Six out of six.

Now, you add the potential of that to
the Karpitz farm I acquired last month,

brings our holdings
to 55,000 acres.

I have the honor to
announce that we are now

the biggest private landowners

in the district.

Here, here.

How about that, my boy?

You must be very proud, Father.

I'm proud for us all.

You know, considering
our humble beginnings,

we are entitled to
think of ourselves

as the embodiment of
all this great nation

has to offer the pluckiest
of its citizens.

Did you make a wish, Mervin?

You know what I wished?

What?

I wished you two sly foxes would
tell me where you hid the body.

Come on, it's my birthday!

Although I'm sure
it's a deep matter.

It was in the river, wasn't it?

Mervin. I know, I know, I know.

You think I'll get drunk at
the Railway Arms and blab.

Well, let me tell you a little
secret about human nature.

I could take any
man in this town,

look him straight in
the face and say,

"We got our start by helping
a Christian gentleman

"to his reward."

And if I said it with
the Wendell charm,

he'd slap me on the back

and tell me how dull things would
be around here without me.

How about it, Philip?

Is he in the river?

Old Axel Dumire sure thought so.

Liked to have sprouted gills
wading around out there.

I don't know what
comes over that boy.

To speak candidly,
it worries me.

Oh, well, he'll come around.

When he understands

what a beautiful future
you've provided for him.

Well, he'd better hurry up.

He's going to have a
big responsibility.

Two of those Iowa couples
are a cinch to throw it in.

I ought to be able to buy up their
land for two bits on the acre.

You certainly picked the
right town for us, my sweet.

Mr. Wendell. Well,
good evening, all.

I heard you got a title
to your land today.

I wanted to congratulate you, Earl.
It's wonderful.

Well, we're having a
little celebration.

Join us, please.
Well, thank you.

May I?

And I've a little something
for you to celebrate, too.

Oh, yes, wheat's gone up?

No, snow is coming down.

Hey, give me that dollar.

I told you we'd have snow on
the ground by Thanksgiving.

That is one bet I
am glad to lose.

This much water this early.

By golly, it's going
to be our best year.

Well, I agree one
hundred percent.

May I borrow your wine
to make a little toast?

To Earl and Alice Grebe
and their loyal friends,

the inheritors of the future.

And to Mr. Mervin Wendell,
who made it all possible.

Well, I'm glad I ran
into you, Earl.

Saves me a trip out
to your place.

How's that?

Well, no, this is a
special night for you.

Perhaps you'd rather
not talk business.

No, go ahead, please.

If you insist.

As you know, young Arlington
stopped homesteading.

The land is now mine.

It's a really choice half-section
just adjacent to yours.

Never touched by a plow.

You propose to sell it?

I don't know.

In the hands of the right man,
it could produce 30 bushels.

How much?

Five dollars an acre, and I
will carry the paper myself.

Five dollars? That's outlandish.

No, it's too much.
It's impossible.

Now, Earl, you are caught

in what I call the
trap of knowledge.

You know the Arlingtons commuted
their land 14 months ago,

by paying Mr. Bellamy
here $1.25 on the acre.

You know that I bought it
for $1.75 on the acre,

showing him a nice profit.

Now, you think that I
should restrict my profits

by perhaps selling
it to you for,

let's say, $3.25 an acre.

But what none of you have taken
into account is the war.

No matter what they say,
we'll soon be in it.

And that fact alone makes
Wheatland worth a fortune.

No, it's too much.

Anyway, Alice wants
to replace our soddy

with a real house and
I agree with her.

Well, I quite understand.

No man likes to see
the light of his life

working so hard without
some comforts.

You think it over.

Oh, by the way, I must warn you
the gentleman I'm dining with,

Mr. Schrager from Nebraska,
well, he's interested.

And he is a cash-on-
the-barrelhead sort of fella.

Well, good evening, all.

And once again,

Earl, Alice, my warmest
congratulations.

Earl, if this really is a
chance to better yourself...

No, we're still gonna
build you that house.

You want to talk it over
with him, don't you?

Go on.

Excuse me, folks. Talking
about it never did any harm.

Unless you're
talking to a snake.

Alice.

It's what he wants.

Get two out of there, Jim.
We don't need them.

Let's get these two back here.
We don't want them.

- Howdy, boss.
- Morning, Beeley.

Say, I'd like to talk
to you for a minute.

Hey, Warren, take over
for me, will you?

How's the new bull?

Well, he's all right. He's no
Confidence, but he's all right.

We got the best beef cattle in
the west out of Confidence.

Of course, he looked a lot less
finished when the steers were lined up,

but weight for weight, he butchered
out 40 pounds more of edible beef.

Well, that's where the
money is, isn't it?

Beeley.

When you first came asking me if
you could marry my girl Nancy,

I had to think pretty
hard on it for a spell.

Yes, sir, I remember that.

She tells me she's happy.

Yeah, but you're not too happy about the
fact of her name being Garrett, are you?

Well, the thing I like about you

is you were raised with sheep,

but you had the intelligence
to switch to cattle.

Well, I like cattle.

I know you do. I've
been watching you.

You can ride and you can rope

and you know a good
calf from a weakling.

Well, sheep herding, well, heck,

you know, that's for
Mexicans or maybe Indians.

It was good enough
for my father, Jim.

Well, now, sure it was.

There wasn't a finer man in
Centennial than Messmore Garrett.

I was proud to call
him my friend.

I'm proud to have his
son in my family.

I just meant, well, you
know, think on it.

You ever notice that there
are a thousand cowboy songs,

but there ain't one sheep song?

It's the smell, I reckon.

Jim, you can take those Herefords and
you know what you can do with them.

Oh, now, Beeley!
Beeley, now hold on!

Now, God dang it! I didn't mean
nothing, I just... Listen!

What I wanna say is,

well, I ain't getting
any younger.

Neither is anybody else.

Well, you got a lot of
good years left in you.

And I want to offer
you a new job.

Assistant Manager
to the Venneford.

Will you take it?

Yeah.

It's got a big future, dang it!

Now, don't go turning it
down just 'cause you're mad!

I said yes.

Oh.

On one condition.
Yeah, what's that?

I don't wanna hear anymore about sheep.
Not one word.

It's a deal.

Anyway, when it come
right down to it,

Charlotte and I, we eat mutton.

Just to show we
got no animosity.

Oh, you do?

Once a year.

My friends, in the
past few weeks,

I have traveled the width and
breadth of this great state.

I have sat up half the night

chatting with mothers and
fathers of doughboys.

My wife and I have
entertained the relatives

of General Pershing
in our own home.

Charming people, by the way,

as genteel as old
Black Jack is tough.

And they all said to a man...

I don't know how he
stands on that platform.

Why is that, señor?

Hot air rises.

And above all,
thank the farmers.

Our boys are the best fed
soldiers in the world.

And speaking of that,
I see among us

a man who has added yet another
section to his holdings

and will soon be raising
even more life-giving wheat

for our boys over there.

Let's hear it for Earl Grebe!

And ladies and gentlemen,
it is in that spirit

that I invite you to
step up here today

and buy a stamp, buy a bond,

contribute one dollar, two
dollars, three dollars...

You ought to be at home in
bed with that cough, Mervin.

Mrs. Emig, if you
courageous mothers

can give your sons, the
light of your lives,

I think I can

weather a little discomfort
to back them up.

So step right up, ladies and
gentlemen, and pitch in.

These lovely girls,

and they are lovely,
aren't they,

will take your pledges.

Step up, ladies and gentlemen.

Hello, Mr. Brumbaugh.

Howdy? How are you feeling?

I hear you had a
bout with the flu.

Oh, cleared right up. Thanks
to this fine lady here.

I don't believe you ever met
Tranquilino Marquez's son.

This is Serafina. How do you do?

Hello. And Truinfador.

Hello. Hello.

And little Soledad. Soledad.

This is the fine lady
I told you about

who pestered the town's fathers

into building the new school.

I've been trying to get her to send
the kids, but she won't do it.

Why not?

School is for Anglos.

Oh, Mrs. Marquez, everybody
should go who has the chance.

That's right. Look at
the Takemoto kids,

they were the head of the class.

They have different customs.

Anyway, Truinfador is
needed on the farm.

At least till his brother
and my husband come back.

And Soledad?

She's a girl.

I see. As if girls are
born to be ignorant.

You better take her by
the hand, Miss Grebe.

She's too stubborn for
an old man like me.

I'm going to the bank. Me, too?

Come on, come on, if you
can stay up, come on.

Oh, Miss Grebe, I hear
you had a fine harvest.

Yes.

Well, that's good. I
hope your luck holds.

You still don't approve?

Approve? I approve of
you and your husband.

Well, come on, young man.
Come on.

You know, I'm reading a book
now might interest you fellas.

It's about soil erosion.
What's that?

Well, when a stream is rolling
downhill and gathers speed.

You know, it eats away
the soil, forms a gully.

Heck, I knew how to stop
that when I was a kid.

You put rocks right in the
stream and it slows the water.

Yeah, but it doesn't stop it.
It still escapes.

Now, you see, if you fellas would
stop plowing in unbroken lines,

if you break up your rows,

and leave a few strips
of unplowed land,

there'd be a lot less erosion.

And if a high wind comes,

you'd have a lot better chance
of keeping your topsoil.

All due respect, Walter,
you ever farmed?

I don't see what that's got to do with it.
Facts are facts.

Who won the plowing contest this year?
You did, but...

Who took second place? Earl.

But look, Magnes,

suppose a three-day wind
comes down the fields,

lined up with those furrows?

There'd be nothing to
break it for 500 miles.

Walter, why don't you
supervise the selling

and we'll supervise the farming?

We haven't been doing anything
that hasn't been done

by a million farmers before us.

And with 19 inches of rainfall,

I don't even know what we need
that extra catchment for.

I saw Hans Brumbaugh a minute ago.
Why don't we ask him?

Now you can't say
he's never farmed.

He's got irrigation. That's a
whole different principle.

I'm willing. Where is he?

I saw him talking to your wife.

Every time I see you, Hardesty,

and you're in the same position.

Don't rub it in, Hans.

Should've got a Model K like me.

Mine purrs like a kitten.

All right, come on,
come on, come on.

Patrón! Patrón!

Hans! Hans!

Patrón?

Hans?

Truinfador, get Dr.
Miller! Quick!

Hans? Hans?

Well, it was gracious of you
to receive me, Mr. Wendell,

your having been so ill.

Oh, nonsense, Mr. Stanford.

Show me an actor who wouldn't
jump at a chance to write his own

obituary.

Oh, please, sir, none of that.

No, no, no,

let's not nice-nelly about.

I'm dying. I know that.

But I've had a grand life

and if I can leave something
behind for the young people,

I'll be very glad. So...

Where do we start?

Well, since you brought it up,

what about those early
days in the theater?

I believe you toured
a great deal.

And in fact, isn't that
how you met your wife?

Oh, yes. I was performing
in the Dakotas.

And I was told I positively had
to see a certain local singer.

"Warbled like a
skylark," they said.

So I went over on my
night off and I found

this vision of
loveliness, this Venus,

rising from the foam.

And did you become
engaged at once?

Oh, no.

She really made it
very hard on me.

She laid down all sorts of
conditions, didn't you, my sweet?

Yes, I'm afraid that's so.

What were some of those
conditions, if I may pry a bit?

Well, what were they, Maude?
Let's see.

She would not be made to
be intimate with fools,

even if they were my relations.

Mr. Wendell.

Perhaps we should get a doctor.

No.

I'm all...

We must...

We must be very cool and
well-bred she said,

as cool as if we were
married for a long time

and as well-bred as if we
weren't married at all.

Excuse me.

Philip,

what's wrong?

Oh, you didn't recognize it?

It always got you an encore.

Congreve. The Way of the World.

Even on his death bed, he's
incapable of telling the truth.

Oh, he'll be doing the
balcony scene next.

But what harm does it do?

If it gives people pleasure?

You know, Mother, there
are people in this world

who believe in the truth
just on principle.

Even if other people hate it.

Don't you have any
inkling of that?

Truth.

Truth is sometimes
rather shabby, Philip.

It can make life
seem rather gray.

Your father's genius

has always been that he could
charm that grayness away.

Make people's dreams
seem possible.

Dreams.

God, that's good.

Say, he's always
been pestering us

to tell him where we
hid Sorenson's body.

Maybe today's the day.

Can you see the look on
that reporter's face?

Extra, extra, read all about it!

Wendell's greatest performance was...
Philip!

Murder.

No.

Oh, oh.

Oh, Philip.

Oh, my dear, dear, Philip.

Won't you ever forgive us?

You're wanted on stage, Mother.

"But, soft!

"What light through
yonder window breaks?

"It is the east,

"and Juliet is the sun!"

Mr. Wendell's vision

in popularizing the radical
ideas of Dr. Creevey

bore fruit during the war,

when the Centennial region became
famous as the breadbasket of the world.

Mr. Wendell was 74.

Yeah. Bet I know what
you're thinking.

How was it you put it?

"The ideals of an imbecile
popularized by a crook."

Ah, well, maybe we were
wrong, Hans, you know.

Those people up at line camp
seem to be doing all right.

What?

Wind?

The winds. You're saying
they'll come again.

Well, if they do, Grebe and
those others are finished,

not much doubt about that.

Yeah?

Mountains.

Mountains?

Mountains, yeah. What?

Snow.

Snowing?

Yeah, it's snowing on
the western slope.

Where it's absolutely useless.

Tunnel.

Tunnel? Yeah.

Yeah, they're making a
tunnel for the trains.

Water. Water?

Water. Water.

Water.

You're saying that we
should capture that water

from the other slope and
bring it over to our side

by tunneling through
the mountain?

Boy, you're really something.

You took on the Cossacks,
drought, land thieves,

the Pettis boys, and now you want
to take on the Rocky Mountains.

And you're wondering how you can do
that sitting here in this chair.

I'll tell you how.

You just keep thinking
and I'll keep talking.

And when I get all those ideas,

I'm going to go to Dan
Jenkins at the Clarion.

He'll know how to get the
kind of experts we need.

You know, if you're
right about this,

those dryland farmers

are gonna have some kind
of chance after all.

The whole cycle of the good
years and the bad years,

being victimized by it,

that's going to be gone forever.

Señor.

Señor Brumbaugh!

Señor Brumbaugh, I'm back!

Señor Brumbaugh.

Patrón, I'm back!

Patrón?

My friends, I wanna
talk for a few minutes

with the people of the
United States about banking.

First of all, let me
state the simple fact

that when you deposit
money in a bank,

the bank does not put the money
into a safe deposit vault.

It invests your money in many
different forms of credit.

In bonds and commercial
papers, mortgages,

and in many other
kinds of loans.

In other words, the bank
puts your money to work.

Hello, there.

Good morning.

Whatcha doing?

Waiting for my brother.

Well, I tell you one place he ain't.
At the bank.

You're a cute little
monkey, ain't you?

What's your name?

Soledad.

Soledad.

Tell you what, Soledad.

A friend of mine's got a
place right near here,

and he ain't never nowhere
near it in the daytime.

Know what I mean?

I know what you mean.

Hey, now. Now, don't
play hard to get.

Get your hands off her.

Butt out, greaser.

Truinfador, no!

Hey, hey! What's going on here?

So, it's you again,
huh, Truinfador?

He insulted my sister.

Sure he did. Your
sister, your mother.

That's the way it always starts.

And then, pretty soon, somebody
gets stuck with one of these.

I think I'll just let you cool your
heels for a while. Think it over.

Hold on there, just
a minute, Sheriff.

Mr. Garrett. Mr. Lloyd. Howdy.

This fella here's
one of our hands.

He's caused us a lot
of trouble before.

Oh, yeah. But no more.
Burns, you're fired.

Mr. Lloyd...

And if I were you,
I'd get out of town

because I'm gonna make sure you don't
work anywhere else hereabouts.

Now, what I think you ought
to do there, Sheriff,

is let that young fella go.

I'll assume the
responsibility for him.

Well, seeing as how it's you, Mr.
Garrett, I'll do it.

But if you ever so much as
look sideways at me again,

I'm gonna put you in jail.

You understand?

Thanks, Mr. Lloyd.

Truinfador, I wonder if you know my
son-in-law here. Beeley Garrett.

How do you do? Hello.

My sister, Soledad. Howdy.

Hello.

Now, how's Tranquilino
getting along anyway?

I offered him a
good job this year,

but he said he wanted
to stay with farming.

He loves the land no matter
how badly it treats him.

He's getting too old
for that stoop work.

I know that, but he doesn't.

He got signed on someplace
else, then, huh?

For a man named Grabhorn.

Grabhorn?

You know him?

You tell your father to get
his money as early as he can.

What about you, huh?

I just got a job open up.

Thanks. But I've opened
up a place of my own.

Oh, really? What?

Well, I opened up a cantina
across from the tracks.

It's a small place, little
music, soft drinks,

but I like it. Oh, good luck.

Good luck, good luck.
Come on here.

If your father changes his mind,

will you have him come see me

or talk to Beeley here? Beeley's
running the spread now.

All right? Now, good day, Soledad.
Nice to meet you.

Damn, those people are really
up against it, aren't they?

That Sheriff didn't
even look at Burns.

Just assumed it was
the Mexican's fault.

Hard times, strangers
always get it worse.

Yeah, I remember when Dad
brought those sheep in.

He may as well have swum
across the Rio Grande,

the way you cattlemen
treated him.

Times were a lot better then.

Victoria, smooth
your hair, honey.

Ethan, stand up straight. Timmy!

Okay. All right,
now, hold still now.

There.

Okay, well, Timmy,

you'll be able to show this
picture to your children someday.

I still wish it was
Billy the Kid.

All right. One more
now just to be sure.

Okay. Hold it.

There.

Did you hear me?

I think half the town heard you.

Hot air goes out
through these cracks

as loud as the cold
air coming back in.

But we'll have them
filled before long, no?

Mama.

You know your father.

I know what Mr.
Garrett says is true.

He should get his money now.

I'll get my money when
I finish my work.

A burro's work.

And that's the only reason
they let us stay here.

We make them rich,

and then the little
money they pay us,

they steal back from us by
raising prices at the stores.

Our money is welcome,

but we're not.

Truinfador,

you make it sound so bad.

It is bad.

There's no war.

There's a war against us.

"Hilario Gutierrez,

"a Mexican farmer on a
farm near Eagle Pass,

"made approaches to a white
woman and was duly lynched."

If he hit the woman
and threatened her...

Mama, he didn't hit her.

He smiled at her.

Maybe he said, "Ay
ay ay, muchacha!"

Not even as much as the
Anglo said to Soledad.

And for that he was lynched!

In Colorado, he should know

not to say nothing like
that to an Anglo woman.

The word I'm talking
about is "duly."

Duly? What does it mean?

It means,

in the natural order of things.

Because he was a Mexican,

he was naturally lynched.
Naturally lynched.

I don't know this Gutierrez.

I don't know what he
did to this woman.

Papa... And neither do you.

You read what you want to read.

I don't know why.

I think because you never had
to see what I have seen.

You don't see what's
going on around you.

I have seen women

like your sister and mother
turned into savages.

Killing with guns and knives
to keep from being killed.

I have seen them buried
in holes in the ground.

Two hundred, three
hundred, who went to war.

I have seen your own brother

blown up into so many pieces

I didn't know how to
begin to bury him.

They don't blow up the
trains in Colorado.

Here, there is no need for war.

We do not work like a slave

seven days a week in the
darkness in the mines.

In the darkness,

only to make Don
Porfirio more rich

and General Terrazas
more powerful.

In Colorado, we can
see the sunrise,

the sun go down.

We do not step in the gutter

when the strong
man comes around.

I don't care, not
even for the Sheriff.

And we get paid.

In Colorado,

you can have a place like this.

A place for all of
us in the winter

when the work is
done in the fields.

Good food, música, a place
to be together and be warm

when the snow is
outside in the street.

A place, Truinfador,

to make winter the best time of the year.
The best time.

I don't see how you can see
the good in everything.

I'm always looking.

You will see, mijito,
you will see.

It is good here. And it
will be even better.

This place, your place,

this will make it better.

You will see.

I'm afraid it's
absolutely correct.

But it can't be.

When I bought that
half-section from your father,

the mortgage was on
the land itself,

not the whole farm.

But it is on the whole farm.

It's right here in
black and white.

He made a mistake.
He drew it up wrong.

I can assure you my father
never made mistakes

when it came to land or money.

It was a matter of
principle with him.

Well, times being bad, you
look back on the transaction

in a way that supports
your interests.

I know what was said.

And it wasn't about any
$1000 mortgage on my farm!

I'm sure rain's coming back
to these parts, Mr. Grebe.

And I'm just as sure you'll
see 30 bushel wheat again.

In the meantime, all you have to do
is continue to pay the interest.

Just $50 a year.

No need to reduce
the principal now.

Fifty dollars extra isn't easy to
come by these days, Mr. Wendell.

You'll manage, I'm sure.

Is he so harsh?

He's foreclosed on
three farms already.

I'm sure he's got us
marked for the fourth.

How could I have been
taken in like that?

How could I have done
this to my family?

You thought he was honest.

I was the only one.

I'll get ya some lemonade, Dad.

No!

There'll be no more lemonade.
There'll be no frills of any kind.

Earl?

I'm sorry, honey. I'm
just awfully on edge.

We've weathered storms before.

We'll just put our heads together
and see how we can economize.

I'll start.

We'll buy no more
clothes for a while.

We can do with what
we have for Easter.

And we'll eat simpler foods,

like your father and I did
when we first came out here.

The fella driving the school
bus was taken poorly.

I think I could have the
job if I spoke for it.

I got that money Gran gave me.

That was to be towards
your college.

I'd rather have a
home to come back to.

I can make some money.

You? How?

Well, it's almost roundup
time up at Venneford.

What're you gonna do at the roundup?
Brand cows?

I don't know.

Maybe the men like their coffee
run out to them when it's cold.

Those bulldoggers will
have you for breakfast.

Don't tease Timmy, Ethan.
He's just trying to help.

I'll have to sell the two bays.

No!

We have to bear down, honey.
Every way we can.

Who's that old fella swinging
that widow-maker there?

That strong one.
Name is Marquez.

Thank you.

I wish you hadn't asked
for the beet fork.

You worked too hard
already this year.

No, I told you. It's more pay.

There will be money for Truinfador
to add another room to the cantina.

He can wait till next year.

I don't forget what
Brumbaugh used to say.

"Strike while the iron is hot."

Marquez? Ain't he the one
that's the rabble-rouser?

The rabble-rouser is his son.

You know, they get to
congregating like that.

I mean, well, look what's happening
with those miners down in Ludlow.

The first thing you know,
you got labor unions

and then you got all
those other damn things.

You know, it's a funny thing.

I was saying that to the Sheriff
just the day before yesterday.

And?

Well, he said we got something

called the Immigration
Service down in Denver.

I even got the phone number.

The Immigration men grabbed
them right out of the field

and threw them in the jail
like they were criminals!

And it wasn't an accident
that it happened on payday.

All they care about

is that we give them our body
and soul for seven months

then they can skip paying us,

pocket the money we
broke our backs for,

and throw us across the border.

What can we do?

Take some guerrillas and
go up into the mountains?

The Rockies aren't the Sierra Madre.
And you're not Pancho Villa.

It won't be done by one man.

It would be done by all of us.

Working together,
presenting our grievances,

standing up for our rights.

Refusing to work until we
get the conditions we want.

My father worked for a
man named Brumbaugh.

They tried running him
out a hundred times.

He kept coming back.

Until he won.

He was an Anglo.

He had the power.

We have something better.
We have hate,

for what they did to us
and to our families.

If you approach these
men like wild beasts,

they'll be wild beasts.

This isn't the church, Father.

That isn't God's fault.

Marquez.

Told you to get your
junk out of here.

Now, it's official.

It's a court order. This place is closed.
Everybody out.

You, too, Father. On your way.

This doesn't even name the
man who filed the complaint.

The only name I'm interested
in is the judge who signed it.

This is my place!

This is my place!

Who do you think you are?
Come on out. Out!

And I say you're wrong.

You're breeding them too small.

You're so taken up with the head,
you're forgetting the body.

But, Mr. Lloyd, ever since Mrs.
Lloyd brought me here,

your Herefords have won best
of show all over the nation.

Why, no other ranch can
match your record.

I don't want a beauty queen!

I want an animal that
can survive the range.

That's brawny and tough and big.

And can forage for itself
in our bad winters.

And how come you call
them "Herrifuds," anyway?

They're Herefords, damn it.

The point is, Jim Lloyd,
that this little darling

wouldn't have earned a penny for us if Mr.
Booth-Clibborn

hadn't established its
credentials in the show ring.

Every time he wins another
ribbon, his fee goes up.

And every time he sires a calf,

the calf's weight goes down,

and their calves
are smaller still.

But surely that's just the idea.

A smaller, more polished animal

that will conform
with modern needs.

That's my wife's idea.
That's not mine.

Sending out a
generation of dwarfs.

It's not what
Venneford's all about.

Mrs. Lloyd? What?

There's a priest here
to see you, madam.

A Mexican gentleman.

Oh, very well. Now
don't back down.

The last time Charlotte had a
good idea about a cow was in '86

and she sent over King Bristol.

She hasn't had a good
idea about a cow since.

Father.

Yes, Father? Mrs. Lloyd,
my name is Vigilio.

I come to you about injustice.

The world's full of it.
Be specific.

A young man has been jailed
for opening a soft-drink bar.

The real reason is that he is
one who speaks for our people.

The judge won't see me. The
newspaper just laughs at us.

Then one of the men said, "Mrs.
Lloyd cares.

"She once bought some
clothes for my little boy."

I'm sorry, I don't
remember the occasion.

I'm new here.

Perhaps you are very busy

with the cows.

You better come inside, Father.

You're just in time for tea.

Well, Your Honor,
the point is that

this fella Marquez here is squatting on
property that doesn't belong to him.

He's breeding
agitation down there.

He's stirring up all the
Mexicans against the farmers

who gave them the only job they're
fit to handle in the first place.

Young man, you are a
visitor in this country

and you must obey our laws.

Now, you had no license to
operate a house of amusement,

you have no license
to play music,

and certainly no right
to be on that property.

And you have defied
a court order.

Now, is there anything that you
wish to say to this court?

There are a few things I should
like to say, Your Honor.

And I believe the court
should hear some things

that Father Vigilio
here has to say, too.

Your Honor, I can
understand a lady

like Mrs. Lloyd here

thinking that the Mexicans
are being picked on,

but that's only because
that man she's with

is going around preaching
nothing but revolution.

Father Vigilio,

I understand that you
have been making some

inflammatory remarks
around town.

And it's my duty to remind you

that even though you are
a member of the clergy,

you, too, are merely a
guest in this country.

And that Sheriff Bogardus
here has the power

to send you back to
Mexico at his discretion.

He most certainly has not.

Mrs. Lloyd, you are
contradicting this court.

Father Vigilio is a citizen of New Mexico.
He's an American.

He is?

Yeah, his ancestors have lived
here for the past 400 years.

Now, I chanced to
look up the records

of the ancestors of
Sheriff Bogardus

and they came here in 1901.

So, perhaps if anybody's going to
be thrown out of this country,

it should be Sheriff Bogardus.

Mrs. Lloyd, would you
approach the bench, please?

Just what the hell is it that you intend
to do here this morning, Charlotte?

Find out if it's
justice that's blind,

or just the bigots
of Centennial.

Centennial is not on trial here.
This Mexican is.

This Mexican?

Well, this Mexican is just one
of many Mexicans in Colorado.

Is the state prepared to
throw them all into jail?

Well, how would the beet farmers
harvest their crops without them?

How would they get them planted and
thinned and tended without the Mexicans?

Now, wait a minute. The issue here
is that house that he's taken over.

You've seen that
building, Harry?

It's not a house. No.

Even after he'd shored up the
sides, he patched up the roof,

that's not a house. No.

It's a shelter of sorts.
It's nothing more.

It's a shelter for
rabble-rousers.

Now, look, we get a lot of
people congregating in there,

and before you know it,
we have labor unions

and more trouble than we need.

Now, now, that's the
real rub, isn't it?

It isn't that he's occupying
some sort of broken-down shack.

It's that he has
workers in there

talking about the immorality
of their employers.

Charlotte... Now, how long

is our legal system
going to allow farmers

to use labor for personal gain

and then dismiss that labor without
any acceptance of responsibility?

Now, that is what this case is
really about, now, isn't it?

Father Vigilio...

Charlotte, I will not have this
court turned into a circus!

This court has got to do
something this morning, Harry.

Something that no church

and no newspaper
and no politician

and no crusading band of women has
had the courage to correct yet.

And I'm just as guilty as anyone
in this state, but this morning,

Harry, this morning,
you and I are going to

come to grips with our
appalling prejudice.

The two people there
with my husband

are Truinfador's
father and mother.

They are Tranquilino
and Serafina Marquez.

Now, I want you to meet them

because they are the people

who keep our farms from turning
back into so much prairie grass.

They are the people who toil
from March through November

at rip-gut wages and then they
have to fend for themselves

through the cold months with
inadequate food, inadequate heat,

polluted water and festering
social conditions.

Now they are the people that Colorado
needs, but Colorado doesn't want.

Nobody asked them to leave their
own country and come up here.

Yes, they did.

As a matter of fact, I asked
Tranquilino's Uncle Nacho myself.

Jim... Of course, I
didn't know at the time

that it was gonna
end up like this.

With them getting arrested

and run off back to Mexico, so
Grabhorn could get out of paying them

for what they earned.

And I didn't know

that most of the Anglo children

that used to be raised to believe
that Indians weren't human

would be raised today to believe
that Mexicans were even less.

Now my own grandson, Paul,

was reading a book the other day

that says by the time Billy
the Kid was 21 years old,

he killed a man for
every year of his life,

not counting Mexicans
and Indians.

Isn't that one hell of a thing?

Jim. What?

Sit down.

Charlotte, you go back
where you belong, too.

I said go back where you belong.

I heard you, Harry.

Now, this court does
not dispute the fact

that everybody from the United
States Government on down

has behaved with duplicity
towards the Mexicans.

But that does not relieve
me of my responsibility

to administer the law.
Truinfador Marquez,

as stated before, you have no license
to operate a house of amusement,

no right to be on that
property in question at all.

And furthermore...

Excuse me, Harry, but who
does own that shack?

Charlotte... I don't suppose
it would still belong to...

This court is recessed
until after lunch.

Charlotte. Mrs. Lloyd.

I want to talk to you right now.

Now you know damned well
that Philip Wendell

owns all of the buildings
on that side of town.

Philip Wendell, yes.

Well, he's thinking of running
for Congress, isn't he?

Well, he has done a lot of good
things for this community.

Then I shall expect him
to sell me that shack

this afternoon for $100.

And I propose renting it
back to Truinfador Marquez

for one dollar a year.

Charlotte, you're
a pain in the...

I'm sure that you and the Sheriff
can convince him to sell

because, otherwise, I shall
have to take this story

to every newspaper
in the country.

That's blackmail.

Well, isn't it just?

Get in the house.

Hey. Howdy, Pa.

Boy, it's a wild one, huh?
It sure is.

I'm scared.

I'm not.

I'll bet. How'd it go
with the bus today?

Pulled off into Emig's field.
I could hardly see the road.

The sound of the
wind, that moaning,

it's like the end of the world.

Well, it'll be over soon, and the
world'll still keep spinning.

Hey, let's have
some supper, huh?

Honey?

That last storm liked
to suck my field dry.

If we don't get a good
gully washer soon,

we are going to be
in real trouble.

Real trouble, huh?

With the drought
and 33 cent wheat,

the banks refusing to
circulate their money,

I'd say a little dust is
the least of our problems.

I don't agree, Earl.

It's not just the topsoil.

When silt is blown
at that velocity,

it develops a cutting edge.

It can actually
sickle your seedlings

just as sure as if you
put iron to them.

Montana's had three of
those storms in a row.

But what can we do about it?

I had these printed
up at the college.

Now, there isn't anything in here
that I haven't been talking myself

blue in the face
about for years.

But maybe now, you
fellas'll listen.

Tie the soil down,
plant shelter belts,

burn your harrows, use the one-way
disk and the duck foot instead.

Plow up some lister ridges crosswise
to the direction of the wind.

But in order for it to work,
you've all got to do it.

Because nobody benefits if the
adjacent land is blowing.

Well, I am going
to look into it.

I just hope there's time.

There's gotta be.

We scraped up every last
penny to pay off Wendell.

And I sure as hell don't intend
to see our place go for taxes.

No. No.

What is it, Mr. Garrett?

Well, I'll tell you this.
It's not for little girls.

What it is, is a brand new event at
the Denver stock show this year.

They're gonna take
twenty of you guys,

and they're gonna put you
out in the big arena.

You're gonna have thousands and
thousands of people watching you.

Oh, boy.

Then they're gonna blow a
bugle and release ten calves.

You're gonna go out there and you're
gonna chase those calves around.

And try to wrestle
one to the ground.

Now the first boy that fixes his
halter around a calf's head

and leads it away
without any help

is gonna win that calf.

You mean, he can take it home?
You bet he can.

He'll take it home, feed it,

and then come next winter at
the auction, it'll be sold.

And all the money,

and you're talking about maybe
several hundred dollars,

is gonna be his to keep.

Paul, are you going to try for it?
No, son, he can't.

His grandma's one of
the judges this year.

The rest of you boys think about it
now and I'll see you at suppertime.

How about you, Cisco?

What do I want with
a dumb old calf?

What I want's a guitar.

Yeah, but after you win the calf in the
auction, you can buy yourself a guitar.

I'd rather steal a guitar.

Well, I'm gonna try for it.

That money'd really
help my folks.

You ever bulldogged cows? No.

It ain't that easy.

Why don't you come up to
our ranch on Saturday?

I'll bet my Grandma Charlotte would
let you practice on one of ours.

And I'll be your coach.

You would? Yeah.

Get up.

That's it!

You okay?

Put your hand in his face if he
backs you in a corner like that.

Come on.

Come on, get him. Yeah, come on.

All right, put your feet down,
put your feet down, come on.

You know, Jim, it'd do you good
to see the sort of enthusiasm

that the Crown V bulls stir up.

You know what does me good?
What?

To see a line of
those white faces

walking over the brow of a hill
at dusk coming in for a drink.

I don't think I've ever seen
anything prettier in my life.

How flattering. You
know what I mean.

Come on, give me a kiss.

Jim, you've got to come.
Just this once.

Elmo Pierce is going to be there

and he's the most respected stock
judge in the entire country.

Charlotte, I've told
you a hundred times

I hate that whole
stock show routine.

All those damn rosettes
and blue ribbons

are what got ranchers headed in the
wrong direction to begin with.

Not afraid, are you,

that he might agree with
me and not with you?

You go out there and be Queen of
the West, and we'll stay home.

I said, are you scared?

Am I scared?

If I can get Elmo Pierce
to come out to Venneford,

will you listen to
what he's got to say?

If he talks sense, sure.

Hang on, Timmy, hang on!

That boy's all right.

You still want to be
a bulldogger, son?

I just got to win that contest, Mr.
Lloyd.

We need the money bad.

Come on.

Jim, can't we help somehow?

Well, we could pay the
taxes for them, I guess.

I don't think
they'd accept that.

Well, we'll call it a loan.

I don't know. These are
proud people, Jim.

And as stubborn as you are.

It was the dirt.

He wasn't even hurt that bad.

It was just the dirt.

The wind and the dirt.

Alice.

Alice, I want you to come
stay with us for a while.

Do you hear me?

I want you to come to our
house and stay for a while.

No. I can't leave
Earl right now,

not with all this on him.

It's not just Ethan.

He thinks we're going
to be sheriffed.

Oh, good Lord.

How much taxes do you owe?

Last year and this.

Earl sold everything
to pay off Wendell.

Magnes'll loan him some.

He'd never ask.

Besides, you...

You have your own
place to look after.

How can a country support a law
that takes away a man's home

when it's the country
that's gone wrong, not us?

I don't know.

I don't know what we'll do now.

There's no place to go back to,

and there's no money to go on.

There's just the wind.

The wind

and the dirt...

Hey, Grandpa.

Well, that's a pretty big
animal you got there.

You bring that down
all by yourself?

Yes, sir. I did
what Paul told me.

Well, I'll tell you something,
Timmy, and I don't say this often.

But I think you've got
the makings of a cowboy.

Gosh, Mr. Lloyd, you do?

Oh, you think you'd
take to that, huh?

You bet.

Well, likely Paul here, he's gonna
be running the spread one day.

And he's gonna need some help.

You two got a good friendship.

And no matter how you cut it,

ranching still comes down
to people you can trust.

Hey, who's that with Grandma?

That is a man named Pierce.

He gets his way,

steers'll be so small you
won't have to wrestle them,

you can just fold them up and
put them in your pocket.

See you later.

Hey, you tired?

Nope. Just hungry.

Me, too. Let's go.

Can't you see you're
ruining the breed?

Emperor IX is the top
Hereford in history.

Emperor IX is a runt.

You mark my words,

the day will come when
every cattleman that knows

will breed every
last damned strain

of that sorry looking,
stubby-legged freak

right out of his herds.

You tell him that he's talking
nonsense, Mr. Pierce.

With all due respect, Mr.
Lloyd, I have to disagree.

Now, I know you built your
reputation on the range-ready steer,

but it is the general
judgment of stockmen

that the Emperor here just
might save the breed.

Bring it into conformity.

Conformity. That's just it.

There's too damn
much conformity.

I can't stand

having nature changed
for some damned fad.

I can't stand around
and just watch

while a breed I
have loved since...

Jim, what is it?

We should just leave
the animals alone.

Like the land, we should
just leave them alone.

She's here, Dad!

Good morning, Victoria.

Mrs. Grebe.

Good morning, Mrs. Lloyd.
Good morning, Earl.

Sorry about your husband. He was
a good friend to all of us.

Thank you.

Well, now, Timmy,

in the olden days in my country,

when a knight rode
out to do battle,

he wore the colors of his lady.

So now you

can wear my colors.

Thanks, Mrs. Lloyd.

Oh, and I've got a little picnic
hamper here for the other youngsters.

Oh, Mrs. Lloyd, we
can't accept that.

Nonsense. Now, the family
of a champion bulldogger

have to keep up their strength
and its moral support.

Come on, now, we'll get started.
Don't you worry about him.

We'll be back before
the end of the week.

Thank you, Paul. Come on, Timmy.

Good luck, Son.

Be sure to use good judgment,
whatever they throw at you.

I will.

Bye, Mom.

Goodbye, Timmy.

Dear, God.

Not today.

Please, not today.

Go in the house.
Help your mother!

Yes, Pa.

Ma, where are you?

Ma, you okay?

Alice?

Alice?

The knife was still in her hand.

We figured what happened was

she killed the girls.

Then Earl must've come in from
the field and seen what happened

and he put a shotgun
to her and himself.

You're certain you
want to take Timmy?

Yes.

We've known him
since he was born.

He'll have a home with us
for as long as he wants.

I'll see that it's not a
financial burden to you.

Well, I guess I'm ready.

You miss Grandpa, don't you?

Yes, I miss him very much.

Bet Timmy misses his folks, too.

I bet he does.

What made them go crazy
like that, Grandma?

Well, hard to say.

Some kids at school say it was
'cause they didn't have any money.

That could be.

Lots of people don't have money.

I think it was something else.

What's that? The storms.

Timmy said his ma was
really scared of them.

The wind and the dust...
They scared me, too.

You don't want to be
afraid of them, Paul.

You must respect them.

You must respect everything
about this land.

That's when people get
in trouble out here,

and they make trouble for others
when they have no respect for it,

for its power and its majesty.

See, those winds that came,

they rolled the land
up, mile after mile,

and they carried it away like
a thief because man let them.

He didn't respect the
delicate balance of nature.

But the land will come back, and the farmers
have learned how to protect it now.

How to take care of it, so
that it can take care of them.

That's probably the most important
thing any of us can ever learn.

How to take care of the land.

I don't think I
understand all that.

Well, it's really very simple.

You see, this land is the
most precious thing we have.

This earth. This planet.

We need it to survive.
But it doesn't need us.

It's got along for millions
of years without us.

In fact, you know the dinosaurs
that used to roam this same land,

they lived longer than
human beings have yet.

Really? They sure did.

And if man's not very careful,

he may be as extinct as
the dinosaur someday.

Now the Indians, they knew how
to take care of the land,

how to maintain the balance.

And the first white
men who came here.

But the men who came since,

they haven't really cared about
anything much except themselves,

what they could take
out of the land,

how it could make them rich.

And there's a kind of a war that's
been going on for some time now.

It's a war you'll be part of.

A war? Yes.

You mean, like the one between
Grandpa Messmore and Grandpa Jim?

About the cows and sheep? No.

No, it's a much bigger one.

It's a much more important one.

It's a war between the men who
want to take care of the land,

and the men who just want to
take what they can out of it.

The takers and the
caretakers, I call it.

I guess Grandpa Jim
was a caretaker.

Both your grandfathers were,
and your father is, too.

And our friend, Hans Brumbaugh,

and the men who
started Centennial,

Levi Zendt, Alexander McKeag,

and you will be too, Paul.

You are going to be a very important
man in this state someday.

Well, you'll run the Venneford and
that's a very large part of Colorado.

I still don't think
I understand.

You will.

When God first met with
man in Eden, he said,

"Replenish the Earth
and subdue it."

But to do that we
have to understand...

To understand that the Earth
has a life of its own.

A force of its own.

So if there are times when
the winds come, as they did,

or the great blizzards,

or the long years without water,

then we have to learn
to live with them.

Or else we die?

Oh, all of us die
sometime, Paul.

Only the land lives forever.

And that's what you
have to understand.

Only the land lives forever.