Centennial (1978–1979): Season 1, Episode 12 - The Scream of Eagles - full transcript

Professor Vernor? Yes.

I'm Sidney Endermann. Oh, hello.

I thought you'd be
wearing a suit and tie.

Yeah. It's too hot. This way.

Thank you.

Ten days, right? How's that?

The time you said you needed to decide
whether or not you'd take the assignment.

Oh, yeah, that's right.

I read Virginia Genesis.
How'd it sell?

Miserably.

Oh. What's your latest one?



Great Lakes Ordeal. All
about iron, steel.

A lot of immigration, of course.

How's it doing?

It's holding its own in
paperback, just barely.

Well, Professor, your
books may not sell,

but you have a hell of a
rep in the profession.

I guess the brains
in this country

know a good man when
they read his research.

Thanks. Oh, and it's Lew, okay?

Okay. Sid.

Sid. Yeah.

You live around here, Sid?
New York.

Oh, I'm sorry, I...
No, don't be sorry.

Unless, of course, it's about
my living in New York.



What's your hang-up about
writing the article?

For openers, it's
already been written.

They just want some
letters from me

giving my understanding of what
went on in this part of Colorado

between the years 1844 and 1978.

Not much more than
a house report.

You know, "Prepared with the
help of Professor Lewis Vernor,

"Department of History,
Georgia Southern."

And you feel like you're
selling out, huh?

Well, it's not exactly the kind
of in-depth research I'm used to.

Well, I'll tell you one thing.

It's all first-class with U.S. Magazine.
Your limousine awaits.

That's how a magazine like U.S.
stays in business.

We work like demons for months on a
project. Greatest writers in America.

But in the end, they want someone
with real brains to vet the piece.

Facts are important, but understandings,
like they want from you,

that's vital.

Oh, I don't know. I do.

Your vanity's been destroyed and your
intellectual integrity's been humiliated.

But they offered to
pay you twice as much

as you'd make teaching for
the same period of time,

so you thought you'd come
and check it out, right?

Something like that.

So what's your involvement, other than
chauffeuring around bruised egos?

What did they tell you?

That you'd meet me,
show me around,

and that the magazine is publishing a
double issue on one American community.

"The soul of America in
microcosm," I believe,

is the way your
managing editor put it.

What did you say
when they told you

the town they'd picked
was Centennial?

That I'd never heard of it.

Which is exactly what
they wanted to hear.

Well, that and the
fact that I told them

I couldn't believe that anyone

would seriously consider the
South Platte River as the...

The focus of an article on the
development of American culture.

Too thick to drink,
too thin to plow?

Exactly.

Well, there's the Platte.

Not much of a highway
of empire, is it?

Used to be.

It was a hell of a highway once.

It brought Pasquinel here.
And Alexander McKeag.

Who?

You'll find out.

If it weren't for them, there
wouldn't be any Centennial.

- Hey, Nate.
- Hey, Sidney.

Mexican food tonight?
You bet. 6:00?

Sounds good. All right.

I thought an historian would want to
stay where a lot of history's been made.

Sounds reasonable.

We'll get you registered, and
then we'll get you oriented.

Okay.

Zendt's Store. That's
where it all started.

Zendt? Mmm-hmm. Levi Zendt.

You're gonna love him.

And his wife, Elly, and his
second wife, Lucinda McKeag.

You mentioned that
name McKeag before.

Wait a minute, I seem to hear
a distant bell going off.

Was he a trader? A mountain man?

He was a legend.

One worth knowing and recording,

so that the rest of the
country can know, too.

Come on.

Manolo Marquez and his family live
down the other end of this street.

That's another whole story.

And then there are two more
places that really count.

The Wendell place... Yeah.

And Paul Garrett's
spread, The Venneford.

That's the cattle ranch.
Mmm-hmm.

It was owned by Earl
Venneford of Wye.

The greatest cattle-rancher
in the West.

Does the earl have a
place in my story?

Only if you want him to.

The ranch is really the
heart of the story.

This is cattle country

and there wasn't a cow north
to Wyoming or east to Nebraska

that didn't bear the Crown
Vee brand for a long time.

There's your truck.

No, that's his truck.

Who's he? Cisco Calendar.

Calendar, the singer?

Yeah, that's him.

What's he, uh...
What's he doing here?

He lives here.

I know, he could afford
to live anywhere,

but this is where his
family's always lived.

Cisco! I thought you
were in Chicago.

I just got back.

Well, I'd like you to meet somebody.
Lew Vernor, Cisco Calendar.

Hello. Howdy.

Saw the truck down at the hotel.

I thought you might
come looking for it.

Um, I borrowed the truck to
pick Lew up at the airport.

I was just giving him a tour.

I saw.

Think we might take a trip
up to Blue Valley again?

That's a wonderful idea.
Lew, would you like...

Oh, no, no thanks. I'd like
to look around some more.

You go ahead.

You're sure? Oh, absolutely.
Nice to meet you.

Same.

Bye.

I've been working on
a song about you.

You haven't. I have.

♪ I guess she'd
rather be in Colorado

♪ I guess she'd rather be out
where the sky looks like a pearl

♪ After the rain ♪

Howdy. Hi.

What're you doing?

Going to build a
bridge over the creek,

so the big trucks from the West

can make it to the plant easier.
Oh.

That's enough!

I said, that's enough.

Hey, damn it.

I said that's enough!

What is it? What?

The hole here. What is it?

I don't know.

I don't want this fool
getting hurt on my property.

I said that's enough. You're
gonna get yourself killed.

They told me to work here.

Well, I'm telling you
to work over there.

Who are you?

Morgan Wendell, and
I own this property

and I'm telling you
to work over there.

Okay.

What is that?

Sinkhole.

Watch your step. It could
be hollow through here.

No sense in poking around here.

Are you all right?

All right?

I'm fine. I'd just appreciate
it if you'd stay clear.

I don't want anyone getting
in any accidents around here.

My family made it big here

by picking the right place
to be at the right time.

Now, the man who
gets this office

can write his own ticket in this
state for the next 20 years.

I want you both to start
working on the governor.

Tell him that we're singing his
praises every inch of the way,

but we want to know that we can
count on him to do the same for us.

Now, if you need any help,

the names on this list
should carry enough clout...

Mr. Wendell, he's coming.

Oh.

Thanks, Eddie.

There you go.

Thank you, Mr. Wendell.

See you boys later. You bet.

Professor Vernor?

I thought that was you. I'm
glad to bump into you again.

Morgan Wendell. You were out to
my place earlier this morning

when that workman nearly ran
his rig into that sinkhole.

Oh, right.

Well, I didn't realize
who you were then.

I just wanted to apologize
for my manners.

Oh, that isn't necessary, Mr.
Wendell.

Well, you see, it's just that we have a
lot of kids fooling around down there.

Sometimes they hurt themselves.

It's inconvenient having somebody
come after you all the time

when it's something you have no
control over. You know what I mean?

Certainly.

I understand you're doing
a piece on Centennial.

I may, yes.

Well, I've got deep roots here, Mr.
Vernor.

Real deep.

And I can't tell
you how proud I am

that they picked our town to write
about and for you to do the writing.

Thank you, Mr. Wendell.

I haven't absolutely decided that
I will write the article as yet.

You don't think they're going
to let you get away, do you?

A magazine as important as U.S.?

They need people like
you to keep on top.

So people like me can be sure that
when I read a fact, it's a fact.

Anyway, I want you to know
I'm available anytime

to give you the facts on
how this town got started

and how my grandfather
helped put it on the map.

You'll forgive me, I hope,

but as yet, I know
nothing of the town.

No history, no names.

Well, that's the way it
should be, shouldn't it?

No prejudices, no
preconceptions.

Let me give you my card.

I don't mean to crowd you,

but this town is the most important
place in the world to me.

My grandparents came here
during real hard times

and they found the
American dream.

Hi, Sid, Nate. Hey, Paul.

Join you? Sure, sit down.

I haven't seen Cisco
around lately.

Nobody has. Except Sidney here.

He's been writing.

He's had a parcel of inspiration,
I can tell you that much.

You're terrible.

Lew!

Hi.

Say hi to Paul Garrett. Paul,
this is Lew Vernor. Mr. Vernor.

We're trying to get him to do the real
work on our story about Centennial.

This is Nate Person. Sit down.

Hi. Howdy.

We're just going to have a
couple of beers, thank you.

And Nate may not be the
greatest barber in the world,

but this is the man who knows
where all the bodies are buried.

And our host, Manolo Marquez.
Lew Vernor.

Do you like Mexican food?

I don't know. It's not all
that popular in Georgia.

Well, this is the
place to find out.

I'll bring you an order.
The best of everything.

Nothing for me, Manolo,
I've gotta get back.

I'm sorry I'm late.

I ran into a fellow I
couldn't get away from.

Oh, who? Who else?

Had to be Morgan Wendell, right?

How'd you know?

Well, you're writing an article
for a high-powered magazine,

he's going heavy into politics,

won't hurt him none to have
folks all around the country

reading about him
and his family.

'Course, depends
on what they read.

His version or my daddy's.

Nate.

Lew, what did he want?

Well, nothing. Just said he wanted
to help out any way he could.

He didn't mention anything
about politics or a campaign.

Of course not.

Anything a Wendell does is only out
of concern for somebody else, right?

They sure know how to sell,
that's for dang sure.

And old Morgan's trying to sell
himself right into the state capital

and who knows what else.

Washington, maybe.

Wouldn't it beat all?

A Wendell in Washington?

No editorials from me.

It's their town you
wanna write about.

What's he running for?

Well, it's a new office. Commissioner
of Resources and Priorities.

The idea is to elect a person

that will help the governor make the
right ecological and industrial choices.

I've never heard of that one.

We're a pioneer state, Mr.
Vernor.

People around here have
always been willing

to try a new approach to things.
Even politics.

We led the nation in
old-age pensions,

proper funding of education,
liberal labor laws.

Turned down the '76
Winter Olympics

because we thought it might be
destructive to the environment.

Well, Wendell didn't.

I'm not defending Wendell, Nate.

Just his right to change his
mind about the way he feels.

Are you gonna vote for him?
A Wendell?

Far as I know, his is the
only name on the ballot.

Well, yours could be.

And I know for a fact that the
governor asked you himself to run.

Well, I've got a ranch to run.
Takes up all my time.

Manolo, when Flor comes in,

tell her I'll call her later.

Paul... I wish I could tell
her you've changed your mind

about running against Wendell.

Excuse me. Any chance you could
carve out some time for Lew?

Tomorrow morning?

Fine.

You an early riser, Mr.
Vernor? Sure.

It'll take some time
to see the Venneford.

Thanks, Paul.

You really want to do something

for this part of the
country, Professor?

Well, you and Sidney
go to work on that man

and get him into
politics himself.

And you tell me that
I'm not right, Manolo.

You're right, amigo.
Wendell should be stopped.

And Paul Garrett is the
only man who could do it.

That's right.

It won't take you a long time to find out.
He is Colorado.

A breeding book.

History of the Venneford bulls.

Over there inside the back of the
book it's got the family, too.

All the way back to
the fifth generation.

The Garretts came down from Montana.
They were English stock.

The Messmores and the
Bucklands were, too.

The Lloyds were Welsh. They emigrated
to Tennessee and then Texas.

And old Patrick Beeley was
a hard drinking Irishman.

Amazing.

Pasquinel... Yeah,
he was French.

Zendt, Skimmerhorn and
Bockweiss were Germans.

Deal was Dutch.

Red Wolf and Pale Star
were full-blooded Arapaho.

And Lucinda McKeag

was Pasquinel's half-breed daughter
by a squaw named Clay Basket.

She was the daughter of
a great Arapaho leader.

Pretty mixed up.

It was damned near incestuous.

You want some more coffee?
No, thank you.

If you turn to the
front of the book,

you'll find the history of
some of those great old bulls

had some pretty close
breeding in it, too.

Come on, bring it with you.

We gotta get airborne if we're
gonna see this ranch. Okay.

Lucinda McKeag.

You say she was
Pasquinel's daughter?

Yeah, she was one of them.

The other was Maxwell
Mercy's wife, Lisette.

She was born to Pasquinel's St.
Louis wife,

Lise Bockweiss.

Then Pasquinel is responsible for
the development of the whole area?

And Alexander McKeag. But
Pasquinel came first.

He paddled a birch bark up the
Platte all the way from St. Louis.

He was a courier du bois.

One who runs in the woods.

A Frenchman from Quebec.

And the first white man the
Arapaho had ever seen.

He traded with them
for beaver pelts.

And Lame Beaver let him know
he was welcome to come back.

He traded with the Pawnee, too.
And he won their respect.

Because he came to
them without fear.

He found McKeag
in a Pawnee camp,

and he was able to save his life

because the Indians believed
he was a man of his word.

A man they could trust.

McKeag stayed with Pasquinel.

And they explored a virgin
wilderness together.

And Pasquinel taught
McKeag how to survive.

Don't fire.

You were way high both times!

I hit what I wanted.
Yeah, the wind.

If you give an Indian a fair
chance, you can avoid killing.

They're going to charge again.

We'll give them this one
and then they'll be gone.

In years to come they will
sit around the campfire

and talk about the coup they
made on the two white men.

And the whistling lead.

And you will sit in Scotland and
talk about the tomahawks and lances.

Their story's an
important story.

The story of men who
lived a life of freedom

not many others have ever known.

And what McKeag learned
from Pasquinel,

he passed on to another important
man in this part of the country.

His name was Levi Zendt.

He'd been headed for Oregon, but like
a lot of others, he had to turn back.

Levi,

a wheel give out?

After we did.

What?

We turned around.

Why?

I saw the elephant.

Oh, I don't believe that.

Why not?

Well, a man doesn't
spin a tale that tall

unless he's hiding a
mountain of fear.

I don't see that in you.

Well, it doesn't matter.
Fact is, we quit.

I was wondering if...

No, I don't suppose
you'd consider it.

What?

Oh, just an old man's
foolish dream.

It wouldn't be fair to a young
one with the makings you have.

What?

Well, I told you I wanted
to start another store

for trading with the Indians.

On that land down south of
here near Beaver Creek.

The place you trapped with your partner?
Pasquinel.

I just had a funny feeling

maybe you'd take to it the
same way he and I did.

I don't even have to see it
to know that for a fact.

Levi and his wife Elly headed
south with McKeag and his family

and camped at a place
called Rattlesnake Cliffs.

McKEAG: There it is.

What is it?

Snake bite.

She was down low.

Elly?

Elly!

Elly!

It's God's mercy, son.

I've seen them die slow. Believe
me, it's better this way.

Levi...

Elly!

Elly...

Ellie died.

But Levi stayed on with McKeag and
they built a trading post together.

McKeag went to St. Louis
and brought back goods

and they made a real go
of it out there alone.

Because McKeag had learned from Pasquinel
that the secret was to show no fear.

And Levi Zendt learned the
same lesson from McKeag.

Why?

He was Pawnee.

He was a boy. He was
warrior prepared to die.

Are you?

Before I'll watch you
commit another murder.

Don't you let Pawnee on
our land again. Ever!

This land is McKeag's and mine.

Clay Basket's!

And when she dies, ours.
His and mine.

If you want the exact
figures, Jake, 40% is mine.

And when I marry
Lucinda, it'll be half.

Marry Lucinda?

You going to marry Lucinda?

This land is ours

and when we tell you to
get off, you get off.

Otherwise, it will all go.

We kill you all!

It's easy to kill with a
dozen others behind you.

Your father was a
brave man, they say.

I figure if he'd seen what just
happened, he'd have been sick.

You keep the trading post.

No harm.

One white man alone who
understood the Indians

couldn't stop others who didn't
take the time to learn, though.

And when the men who came
looking for gold got there,

they were in too big a rush
to want to learn anything.

They're the ones who really
started the Indian wars.

And it cost a lot of
good people dearly.

The trading post Zendt built
with McKeag was burned down.

But he and Lucinda
built a new one.

Right on the spot
where it sits today.

Another important man
came along about then.

His name was Hans Brumbaugh.

He was a Volga Deutschman.

And he was the first white man to really
make use of the river since Pasquinel.

This is my land, huh?

Mine.

And I'll grow potatoes.

And I'll be king of potatoes.

Potatoes Brumbaugh. That's me.

That's good, huh?

Potatoes Brumbaugh.

So the river really was
the highway of empire.

Sure was.

Now it's being treated like
a sewer in some places

and being sucked dry at that.

Until I tell you different,

everything you see down there once
belonged to Earl Venneford of Wye.

Incredible. It's so vacant.

I guess it's never been good
for much but running cattle.

Yeah, and barely good for that.

It takes about 60 acres to
support one cow and calf unit.

Sidney says you
bought some of it.

Yeah.

Only about 130,000 acres.

Maybe it's the best part.

It's a challenge.

And back east, how
many acres to a unit?

Well, my uncle in Virginia needs
one acre for what you call a unit.

But, see, it's bottom
land along the river.

That's the difference between
Virginia and Colorado.

One to an acre your way,
one to sixty our way.

I guess it makes your land
60 times better than ours,

but we work 70 times harder, so we
come out a little bit ahead, huh?

How much land was there?

Well, 180 miles east-west,

50 miles north-south.

About six million acres.

When my great-grandfather,
Jim Lloyd, was foreman,

he said that he could inspect
about 10 miles a day.

About 18 days to cover
just the middle.

Forget the north
and south borders.

You said the Lloyds
were from Texas?

Yeah. He came north on the first drive.
The Skimmerhorn drive?

No, Skimmerhorn went to
Texas to get the cows.

But R.J. Poteet made
the drive north.

Do you mind if I turn this on?

No, go ahead.

R.J. Poteet drove them north.

That'd be 1868?

That's right.

Jim Lloyd was just a boy.

Did he tell you about it?

Well, he claimed he
grew old telling me.

You can imagine what it was like for
a kid about eight or nine years old,

listening to his grandpa telling him
stories about adventures he had.

Adventures he knew he was never
gonna see in his lifetime.

Can I help you, son?

Yes, sir, I'm looking for Mr.
R.J. Poteet.

You found him.

Mr. Poteet, my ma says to
please ride over and see her.

Who's your ma?

Emma Lloyd.

You Tom Lloyd's boy?

Yes, sir.

Well, how is ol' Tom?

He's dead.

He didn't get back from the war.

What's your name, son?

Jim.

Emma.

R.J.! Bless me, you look just fine.
Just fine.

Jim here told me that Tom
didn't make it back.

Him and too many others.

What can I do for you?

I need you to buy
my cattle, R.J.

Well, Emma,

we just got about every
head that we need.

Well, I'm sure of it, R.J,

but, well, we haven't had a cent
of spending money in over a year

and I just gotta sell my cattle.

How many kids you got?

Three boys.

Jim's the oldest.

Could I see the others?

Boys, come on out here.

This is J.C. and
this is little Tom.

He does favor him some.

Boys, this is Mr. R.J. Poteet.

A good friend of your
father's for many years.

And of mine.

Howdy.

J.C.

Now, the reason that I'm here,

is because your brother
told me about your pa,

and I reckon that if it was me that
didn't make it back instead of him,

I'd like to think that he'd look
in on my family, if they ask.

I'll take your cattle, Emma. How
many you got? A hundred and fifty.

I'll take them on consignment.

Two dollars a head now, plus
whatever I can get at Fort Sumner.

Oh, thank God. God
bless you, R.J.

Jim...

There's one more thing.

Now what's that?

Would you consider
taking Jim with you?

I've seen you ride.
Can you throw a rope?

Yes, sir.

It's a deal.

But when the trail's over,
you don't get any wages.

Why not?

Because I'm giving them
to your mother now.

Tough way to grow up.

Well, he didn't
have much choice.

The north was hungry for beef and
Texas was just plain hungry.

Did he ever go back?

He told me that after
he saw Colorado,

there was nowhere else on
earth that he wanted to live.

And I grew up around here and I think
I pretty much feel the same way.

Mmm.

You mentioned a fellow named Nate.
Mmm?

Any relation to Nate Person?
Yeah, his grandfather.

He was Poteet's right-hand man.

He was the only black man that ever
rode point on the Skimmerhorn trail.

Gap's dead ahead.

Fourteen miles past
it's the Pecos.

How's the water?

Sweet in one spot.

North and south, it's all stagnant.
Pure alkali.

Kill every cow that drinks it.

Is it marked?

There's a sign says
Horsehead Crossing.

A line of skulls tell you why.

Watch where you pass!

Bring it up!

Dust, hell.

That alkali weren't nothing to what
me and ol' O.D. Cleaver come through

when we was finishing up
an Indian scout one time.

Nothing could have been
worse than that alkali.

I don't see how.

I'll tell you how.

The wind never stopped
blowing, that's how.

For three days and three nights.

The sand covered up
every blade of grass,

even the mesquite bushes.

We was riding down
through the sand hills

between El Paso and Alamogordo.

Now you know what that's like.
I'll take it to that alkali.

Well, that's 'cause you wasn't
there when we found the hat.

The hat? Yes, sir.

A man's hat lying there on top a
sand dome when the wind died down.

Real nice hat, too. Like someone
cared for it real good.

So ol' O.D.,

he climbs down to pick
it up, don't you know.

And smack underneath
it, there's a head.

A head?

What'd you do?

Well, I climbed down
beside ol' O.D.

We started scratching the sand
out of the eyes and the ears,

and the mouth with our fingers.

Then danged if that ol' head

didn't look right smack
up at both of us

and started talking.

It talked? That's right.

What did it say?

It says, "Get a shovel,
boys, I'm on horseback."

But it wasn't all yarn-spinning
and eating trail dust.

There was danger, too.
The outlaws and Indians.

All right, boys.

Hold your fire.

You held them, boys!
You held them!

They won't be coming back.

You all right, Mr. Skimmerhorn?
Yes, sir.

Good work, Nate. You all
ought to have seen old Jim.

He dropped that chief when
he was right on top of me.

I killed him? I sure
as hell didn't.

Somebody else's bullet, maybe.

No, sir. Chief was yours, Jim.

Quite a breed of men.

Yes, they were.

You know, Nate and Bufe Coker the
rebel died not far from here.

They were fighting side
by side in the range war.

Cisco Calendar's
great-grandfather, Amos,

he was a buffalo hunter for a while
until he started to herd sheep

with Nate and Coker for my
great-grandfather on my father's side.

Messmore Garrett. Sheep?

Yeah, he started with sheep but he had
the good sense to switch to cattle.

The cowboy made this state.

He carved out the trail
we're flying over now.

Coker, they're
straying over there.

Yes, boss.

Jim, well, this is
the trail's end.

I heard.

I'd like...

I'd like for you to
hear something from me.

Sir?

You know, if I was your own pa,

I couldn't be prouder of the
way that you've come through.

I'd like to shake your hand.

Thank you, Mr. Poteet.
You betcha.

I'd like to give you
something, too.

Oh, no, sir.

That wasn't our deal.

All right, son.

Well, you think you'll be
sticking with this kind of work?

Yeah, if I can find it.

Well, the trick is finding men
like you that will do it.

It's a big, wind-blistered world
we're riding through, Jim.

I just hope it'll last
a little while longer.

Why wouldn't it?

Well, because when
men like you and me

point the way to where
a town can be built,

then other men come along
and they build it.

Settlers that want a home,

or a title, a piece of ground.

And they'll kill to keep it.

But if you're as much like me as I think
you are, you won't fight for that.

You'll only care about what
you're responsible for.

Your horse and your herd.

I don't know, Jim. Maybe...

Maybe we're just too restless
to inherit the earth.

Hmm?

- He did inherit it, though.
- A large part of it, anyway.

How did he wind up
owning the ranch?

Luck of the draw.

A wealthy widow fell in love with
him and made him a wealthy man.

Your great-grandmother. That
would be Charlotte Buckland?

Quite a lady. And quite a
story in her own right.

Sidney said I'd
need a lot of tape.

Well, we got a lot of history.

But the men that followed
that herd north,

those are the men you
gotta focus on here.

Without the cattle, there
wouldn't be a Colorado.

Morgan, Vernor's just trying to get
a slant on the story, that's all.

Besides, what could he possibly
do that would hurt you?

That's an important magazine, Dennis.
It's got millions of readers.

And what they write
about my family

can affect what I'm after in
the next couple of years.

Are you talking about that gossip
of how your granddad got started?

Morg, my daddy used
to tell us that one

when we were just
little squirts.

Hell, in a town like this, everybody's
got a story or two they're not proud of.

Well, I'm proud of my family.
Damn proud.

I don't want that story turning
up in print right now.

Simms and Riggs have
been watching him.

Said he hasn't done anything
out of the ordinary.

He's been with Paul Garrett.

Garrett's got a big story to tell, Morg.
You know that.

If I were writing for that magazine,
I'd be pumping his well dry myself.

You afraid ol' Paul might still
wanna jump in on this seat?

I'm not afraid of Paul Garrett.

I just don't want anyone
upsetting my plans right now.

We've got a perfect
setup going here.

A campaign for a real
public service showcase.

A chance to push an image
the public wants to buy.

Now the right words about me
and my family in that magazine

can put us over the hump.

The wrong words
can flush it all.

Understand?

That's got to be good food.

It always tastes better after
than it does going down.

Thank you.

Sort of puts your
stomach in synch

with the rest of the
world, doesn't it? Yeah.

So tell me, are we in synch?

I've still got
eight days, right?

Just didn't think it would
take you that long.

How long did it take you?
To do what?

Write the story I'm
here to fortify.

They did tell you.

Your friends did.

The way they treat you.

So, how long did you
do research here?

Five months.

Disappointed?

No, it was just that at first I thought
you were someone who, you know...

Yeah, that was helping
somebody else out?

Someone more important
than myself, huh?

I'm sorry.

But your magazine has asked
me to spend a lot of time

doing something
you've already done.

Can I ask you a question?

Sure.

I expect it. I know how
important this is to you.

What's your judgment of
the Skimmerhorn massacre?

Oh, no.

That's your job to tell
us what you think.

Have you done any work on the
reports of Maxwell Mercy?

Lew, you're an ace.
You're a real ace.

I did my master's thesis under Allan
Nevins at Columbia University

on some unpublished letters
I found of Captain Mercy's.

And on my bedroom wall at home,

I have an old photograph of him

taken by Jackson
at Fort Laramie.

And for your personal
information,

I got damn near
straight As at Illinois

and honors at the University of
Chicago, where I took my doctorate.

Well, Doctor, you really
love this, don't you?

Yeah, I do.

And I really need you to make things hum.
To make them work.

To make them live.

What about the creek? Anything
important happen here?

What makes you ask?

A little something I came
across when I first got here.

This is the spot where Pasquinel
and McKeag set up camp

the first time they
traded with the Arapahos.

How long ago was that?

They were the first white
men to come down the river.

That was nearly two
centuries ago.

You're supposed to be getting this
information from other people.

Could Morgan Wendell tell me?

About Pasquinel and McKeag? No.

His family didn't get
here until the 1880s. Ah.

What's their connection
with the creek?

Oh, you've been doing
your homework.

You heard about
the scandal, hmm?

Scandal?

Yeah, the murder.

On this land? Their land?

It wasn't theirs at the time.

But that's what some people say, that's
how they got their money to pay for it.

They killed for it?

That's what Nate Person said.
And Manolo says it's true, too.

What about Paul Garrett?

No, he just sort of
disregards anything

that doesn't concern
him directly.

What happened?

Lew, I'm supposed to be making
you do your own research.

Okay, how's this?

What is it? What
does it look like?

Is it human?

I'd say so.

Did you find it here?

No. It's just something I carry around
to startle bright young journalists

I meet in small Western towns.

No, I'm serious. Did
you find it here?

Right there.

They were digging a hole to pour a
foundation for the bridge abutment.

They must've broken
through an old cave.

Then Dumire was right.

Dumire?

He was the sheriff here when
the territory became a state.

Axel Dumire was his name.

He swore that the Wendells got their
start by committing a murder.

But he could never prove it because
he couldn't find the body.

Morgan's grandfather, Mervin,
did arrive without a penny.

But according to Sheriff Dumire,

the fortune he made here was founded
on blackmail and blood money.

Mr. Wendell, ain't it?

Sheriff. What a surprise.

Maude, for heaven's
sake, look who's here.

Yes.

Well, how have you
been, old man?

Your trunks are
on the cart, sir.

Oh, thank you, lad.

Here you go.

Oh, Lord.

I don't suppose you'd be able
to change a $20 gold piece?

I don't suppose I would.

Oh.

Well, no matter. I'll
catch you next time.

There it is, the Railway Arms.
See it, dear?

Oh, yes.

Have them send someone
for the trunks. Yes.

Come, Philip.

How long are you planning to
stay with us in Centennial?

Two performances, sir.

And of course there will be a free
pass for you at the box office.

And of course you're planning to
pay your bills before you leave.

Sheriff.

I told you the Railway Arms
had seen a lot of history.

Well, it saw the first performance
in Centennial by the Wendells.

Bravo!

But some of their
better performances

were held for private audiences.

At least, Dumire thought so.

Like the one for Reverend
Holly, the local minister,

who let the Wendells move into
a house he owned, rent-free.

A performance Dumire
called the badger game.

Maude?

Maude, I'm home. Are you here?

Maude...

Mr. Wendell, listen
to me, please...

You filth!

Mr. Wendell, I'm so sorry.

And so pious!

So sanctimonious!

Where's your Bible now, Pastor?

About goodness and
innocence and trust.

Oh please, you can't
say anything to me

that I haven't already
said to myself.

How did this happen? I don't
know how this happened.

It's as much my
fault as it is his.

If you're going to shoot,
then shoot both of us.

Yes, don't worry
about that, madam.

You'll pay!

Please, we've
admitted our guilt.

We'll do anything.

Yes, anything.

Shut your mouth, sir!

If for one second you believe

that there's anything more
important to me than honor...

Oh no, no. Of course not. I
didn't mean that at all.

But to scar your
son like this...

He's right.

Why... Why should you
want to punish Philip?

Please let me... Let me try to
make this up to you somehow.

Let me... Let me
give you something.

Something for Philip's sake.

I don't have very much, but...

Well, I don't know, perhaps...

Some kind of security
for his future.

The deed.

The what?

I want the deed to this house.

That would be something
permanent for him.

That's scandalous.

Scandalous?

You talk to me of scandal?

I'll show you scandal, sir.

No, wait!

The house is yours.

Shh...

The badger game.
That isn't murder.

No, the murder came when
a man named Sorenson

saw through what
they were up to.

But Dumire couldn't prove it. Well,
he couldn't find what you found.

Well, Sidney, we... We're not...

Lew, Dumire swore

that Sorenson's body is buried
somewhere in that creek.

Yeah, yeah.

But first, we don't know whether this
thing I found is actually human.

Second, we don't know how old it is.
And third...

Then I will go to New York. I will
take it to a lab and have it examined,

I will call you... And third,

if those two guys in the pickup
truck are friends of Wendell's,

it wouldn't be the
smartest thing

either one of us could ever do

to make a lot of noise about
this thing right now, anyway.

Don't look at 'em.

How long have they been there?

Well, when we came out of
Manolo's they were there.

And this is the third time
they've been by here.

Why?

Maybe Wendell has more parts
to the puzzle than we do.

Lew, I don't know what
you're talking about.

I saw him take out of there what
could have been a complete skeleton.

That's how I got this
little number in my pocket.

Just laugh a little,

and act interested in
anything besides that cave.

Who do you suppose they were?

Probably a couple of researchers

doing a piece on Centennial.

Funny.

Not so funny if they go
to press before we do.

We?

I'm afraid I'm hooked.

On doing the assignment, or
playing Sherlock Holmes?

Both.

I hate leaving you here alone.

I wish you would at least
talk to the sheriff.

Is he related to Axel Dumire?

You're impossible.

Look, Sid, It's the
20th century, right?

Men have walked on the moon and
are headed for planets beyond.

A murder that may or may not have
been committed 100 years ago

isn't going to place
us in jeopardy.

It was 90 years ago,
and it did happen.

According to Dumire's diary, he had
everything but the corpus delicti.

He was on to them
from the beginning.

You Mervin Wendell's boy?

Yes, sir.

What's your name?

Philip.

Come down to see
your dad do his job?

Yes, sir.

Well, he's a real hard worker.

Job don't pay much. Only
about four dollars a week.

Hardly enough to
keep a bird alive.

You look like you're
eating all right, though.

Got some new clothes?

Yup. Well, I think
someone gave them to us.

Good talking to you, Phil.

Morgan's father, Philip,
was just a boy then.

But he had to make a
man's decision soon.

The night of the murder, Paul
Garrett's grandfather, Messmore,

was throwing a party
for his wife.

Pa, I... Yes, lad, later.

Well now, let me guess.

Doctor?

The black bag? No, I'm
just a businessman.

Here looking at some properties.

Oh, I see.

Go and play with Beeley.

Maude...

Maude... Oh!

Um... Excuse me, sir.

I'm terribly sorry. I've
just spoken to Higgins.

He insists I come
to Denver tonight.

Tonight?

Now, precious, there's nothing I can do.
You know that.

I've just got time
to catch the train.

Oh, no... Please forgive me.

I'll see you tomorrow.
I promise.

Oh, this is the end!

I mean it!

That's the last time that
man's gonna run out on me!

Are you all right?

Would you take me home?

Please? Of course.

Thank you.

I just feel so ashamed.

Surely not for crying?

It seems to me you're certainly
entitled to a few tears.

I mean, but I have no right to put
my burdens on your shoulders.

Oh, I think they're
broad enough.

Yes, they certainly seem to be.

Oh, Mr. Sorenson...

Maude,

I'm back!

I missed the train.

Be still, man. For God's
sake, nothing's happened.

"Be still"! What earthly right have
you got to tell me to be still?

You wait until my back is turned,
you creep into my house...

There isn't a judge or jury who
wouldn't honor me for killing you!

Sir...

The old badger game.
I should have known.

I must be getting
silly in my old age

not to see through
an act like yours.

You're very good.

Now, we'll see what your
sheriff has to say about this.

Mervin?

Now, sir, just one moment.

Put that down, you
fool, I've had enough.

Sir, I'll have... Maude!

He's breathing, isn't he?

No.

Oh, my God, we'll hang.

They won't hang us.

Nobody knows he's here.

We'll bury him.

What?

We'll put him in the well.

That's the first
place they'll look.

Philip?

Dad, I tried to tell
you at the party.

Sheriff Dumire knows what
you did to the minister.

So the minute he finds out you
were dancing with this man,

he's gonna be out here.

He's gonna be looking down that well and
he's gonna be digging up that cellar.

Philip, how did you know
about the minister?

I guessed.

I knew he didn't give us
this house for nothing.

Oh, dear God. What
are we gonna do?

What are we gonna do?

What have we done
to this poor boy?

Mervin, be quiet!
He won't collapse.

He's his mother's son.

Aren't you, dearest?

I guess I must be.

'Cause I know where
we can hide him.

In the creek? It won't work.

Yes, it will. Now come on.

They'll know he didn't drown.

Someone's bound to
remember he left with me.

Look, nobody will ever find him.

Come, come on. Phillip, come.

Come.

Where? Where did you hide him?

Cave.

Some beavers made it, I guess.

It was my secret hiding place.

Now, I guess it... Now, I guess
it's got to be ours, huh?

Mervin.

Look! Look!

It was in his black bag!
It's a fortune!

Five and a half
thousand dollars!

Do you know what this means?
Do you know what this means?

It means we can go to Europe.
It means we can invest.

We can have a business.
We can have a theater.

No.

Maude? Not yet.

What are you talking about?
Sheriff Dumire.

He'd want to know where
we got the money from.

We're going to be very patient.

We're gonna quit
the badger games.

We'll take on extra work,
all of us, even Philip.

And then,

when the time comes,

we'll be able to
invest our savings.

Dumire again.

He's always the fly
in the ointment.

What if he finds the body?

He won't.

That's how it happened.

Dumire knew it, and
that's how it happened.

But he could never prove it.

Nobody could prove it.

Lew, you know what you found?

A piece of the past.

Maybe a piece of the future.

How's that? Morgan Wendell.

If the rest of that skeleton
could be found, then...

Aw, damn. Damn.

What?

Well, I wanted to use
this for our story.

But I think we should leak
it to the papers first

so it comes out just
before the election.

Why?

To stop Wendell!

Morgan Wendell hasn't
done anything wrong.

He represents everything
that's wrong in this country.

His family made a fortune on other
people's misfortunes and their miseries.

Their land development scheme
at Line Camp was enough to...

Well, that's information that you
should get from other people.

I just think that we should do
something about what we're sitting on.

Wait a minute. What
I'm sitting on.

Lew, that's evidence.

Have you ever heard of the
statute of limitations?

I'm not trying to send
anybody to prison.

What are you trying? Blackmail?

Character assassination?

A smear campaign?

Lew... I shouldn't let you
take this to New York.

Oh, you just try and stop me.

Rattlesnake Cliffs.

It's too bad they can't
talk into your recorder.

They've seen things
no man's ever seen,

and right over there is where the
first American dinosaur was found.

Huh.

Diplodocus.

Professor from
Harvard dug it out

in about, now, 1875, I guess.

It was about two miles
up beyond the cliffs,

that's where they found
the Clovis points,

about 1935.

They proved that man had been
here at least 11,000 years.

We'll ride out there tomorrow.

Maxwell Mercy wrote about
those cliffs in his journal.

Is this where it happened?

We're flying over Lost
Eagle's camp right now.

That was a camp with no
warriors and no weapons.

Over there at about 10:00 is
where the Colorado state militia

sat waiting for the
sun to come up.

Colonel.

Captain, everything
in order here?

Ready and waiting, sir.

I trust you grasp the
importance of your position?

You're not to let
one single redskin

slip through these lines.

I understand, sir.

Will they be heavily armed?

Armed?

They're Indians.
Shoot them down.

Of course, sir.

What I meant to say was

will they be mounting an
attack in my direction?

Captain McIntosh, listen to me.

When those cannons fire, there's
gonna be a great deal of confusion.

I intend to compound
that in the center.

In all that confusion,

many of those Indians are gonna
attempt to run off in your direction.

And it's your duty
to gun them down.

All of them.

I do hope you understand.

Yes, sir.

We can't let them live
to fight another day.

It'll be sunrise soon.

Gentlemen, we're engaged
in a great venture.

We have it in our power to
make this glorious nation

safe forever from
these predators.

God is on our side.

Remember that always.

Fire!

Fire!

Full ahead!

We have no guns! Stop!

We have no guns!

What are you doing with them?

Captured prisoners, sir.

Nits grow into lice.

Kill them.

They're slipping
away to the right.

Colonel's compliments, sir.

And why isn't the right
flank engaged yet?

Because the right flank refuses
to slaughter unarmed civilians.

Are you all right?

You look a little pale.

I'm trying not to be sick, sir.

We should all be sick this day.

We should all be sick forever.

But somehow it's been an
easy thing to forget.

Except for the Indian.

Paul.

Morgan.

Mr. Vernor. Hello.

Checking out the cattlemen's
heritage, are you?

Oh, more than that. We've
been in a real time machine.

All the way back to
the first dinosaur.

Well, you remember, when
you get up to where things

are really happening
around here, let me know.

Paul, can I have a couple
of minutes of your time

to talk some 20th
century business?

All right, Morgan.

Lew, why don't you go
down to the corral

and pick us out a couple of horses?
All right.

You remember, now.

Paul, you and I have never
really gotten along too well,

but I need your help.
I need it badly.

With what?

Well, it looks like I've got
this election into the bag.

And if I win, I'm going to need
some first-rate brains to help me.

Now, don't interrupt me.

Brains aren't my long suit.

But sensing what's happening is.

Knowing what people
are looking for.

And how does that involve me?

Directly.

You see, the great
problem for Colorado

in the next decade is going
to be to save the state.

I mean that. To
save the forests,

the trout, elk,

and especially things
like the rivers

and the air we breathe.

Sit down, Morgan.

You know, for the first
time in your life,

you're beginning to make sense.

I learned from men
like you, Paul.

And I know how you
feel about politics.

I want you to accept an
appointment as my deputy,

effective the day I take office.

Now, it's a real public
service position.

And it's an appointment.
No politics involved.

Morgan, I certainly
appreciate it.

A job like that, my conscience
wouldn't let me turn it down.

But I won't take the job just
to provide a facade for you.

You talk about ecology.
That's a popular word today.

That's the in thing to say
if you want to get elected.

But it's not just a word to me.
It's my whole life and my family.

I might not be an easy
man to live with.

I know that.

But I believe in
your strength, Paul.

As much as I do in my own.

I think we could put up with each
other a couple, three years,

just to get the job off
on the right foot, huh?

Might be a workable arrangement.

And you accept?

You got the buggy before
the horse, Morgan.

No.

No. I want you to say yes now,

so I can make an
announcement this afternoon.

I don't think you wanna make
that announcement today.

Why not?

You know about Floyd
Calendar's trial.

What, for hunting eagles?

From a plane.

Well, Paul, every hunter in the
state's going to side with Floyd.

Not this one.

I'm hoping that doesn't mean you're
going to testify against him.

I sure as hell am.

Paul, uh, that could
be a sticky case.

Couldn't you...

Couldn't you duck it?

You know, Morgan, before you
can even get me appointed,

you're asking me to draw back.

Well, it's just that... It's just that
we don't see eye to eye on things.

We never have.

Floyd Calendar's case is the very heart
of what we were just talking about.

Well, maybe I could

postpone the... You postpone,
and I won't accept.

You just said you'd accept.

I said, Morgan, that the
protection of this state

is always gonna irritate people you
want to placate, need to placate.

It'd be a dogfight between
us every inch of the way.

It doesn't have to be.

We both know where we stand.

Your job'll be protecting
all the good natural things

and mine will be to make sure
that industry gets a fair shake,

so there'll be jobs
and tax rolls.

You conserve the water.

I want every drop I can get
for new cities and factories.

It'll be hard, sure,

but it won't be half so hard if
you don't go getting mixed up

in that Calendar case.

Do you know who one of my favorite
Americans of all time is?

Warren Gamaliel Harding.

Because he came along at
a time when this country

still had a comfortable
margin of error.

And he proved just how bad an
elected official could be.

He's the benchmark for
every politician since.

On the day they take office, they
ought to think of President Harding

and say to themselves,

"I'll never allow
myself to be that bad."

So you see, Harding keeps
the ballgame honest,

and I judge him to be one of the most
useful Americans that ever lived.

And if I ever get into politics,
even by an appointment,

I'm not gonna turn out to
be the Colorado Harding.

I wanna tell you, Morgan,

I can't work with a man

who's beginning to make noises like
he might be just that himself.

Well, that's just one more
thing we don't agree on, Paul.

And I'm sorry.

For you,

for me,

but especially for Colorado.

He's a technician.
He can perform.

He can keep things
from getting tangled,

but in a crisis he won't have
any base to operate from.

Because he doesn't
believe in anything?

I don't want to be
misunderstood, Lew.

He's a reliable businessman.

He did well in college
but he never...

But he never took any classes
that made him think.

Worked his way in with
the right people,

professors, coaches,
fraternity leaders,

but nobody ever knew
what he stood for.

He never crossed anybody,
he just kept climbing.

Yeah, well, I don't remember you
being at Boulder when we were there.

I live on a college campus.

The faces change every semester,

but most of the students don't.

Let me ask you something.
Sure, go ahead.

You believe this position to
be an important one? Very.

But you refuse to do
what the governor asked.

You'll just let Wendell
walk right in and take it.

Well, public office is not
something I want to chase after.

Let me put it another way.

If Lost Eagle had it
to do over again,

think he'd fight?

He did what?

He filed for the primary.

He's running against you.

That phony son of a...

All right. When's
Calendar's trial?

Next Wednesday.

Good. We're gonna take Mr.
Garrett out of the race

before he even gets into it.

Make sure the press
covers his testimony

and get a hold of
Calendar's attorney.

I'm going to coach him
myself on a few questions

I want Mr. Garrett
to answer publicly.

Mr. Garrett. Hey, Mr.
Garrett, look over here.

Smile.

The defendant, Floyd Calendar,

has been an acquaintance of
yours for how many years, then?

Oh, I'd say maybe
eight, ten years.

And what kind of work
was he doing then?

He was a guide.

What kind of guide?

Well, he put hunting
parties together.

To hunt what?

Prairie dogs.

Prairie dogs.

Are they edible?

No, you don't eat them.

You just shoot prairie
dogs for the fun of it.

I see.

Mr. Garvey, are you a pilot?

That's right.

And you fly a helicopter
out of Fort Collins?

Yes, sir.

When, in your opinion, Mr.
Garvey,

did Mr. Calendar first direct
his attention to eagles?

Oh, well, we was flying one day,
about five years ago, I guess,

and we see this old baldy
come out of this dead tree.

And we both watched him
flying for a while,

and then Floyd, he turned to
me and he said, "Hell, Hank,"

he said, "With the
right attention,

"a man could get on
that old eagle's tail

"and blast him right
out of the sky."

So for a week we made dry runs, you
know, seeing if we could spot an eagle

and get close to him.

And we found out that
it was downright easy.

Those eagles don't fly near as fast
as they show 'em in them cartoons.

When did the idea...

I mean, whose idea was it
to do this commercially?

Oh, I think that kind
of came natural.

Floyd and I, we
knew about hunters,

especially Floyd, him
being a guide and all.

And we knew how tough it was
for a hunter to bag an eagle.

I mean, a lot of good
shots, they'd try for years

without even coming close to
one, much less hitting one.

And that used to
bug 'em, you know.

Maybe on their walls they'd have
a big-horned rhino from Africa,

or a tiger from India,

but they didn't have
our national bird.

Well, when did the
commercial aspect begin?

Sir? Your first customer.

When was that?

Well, uh...

We were making dry
runs this one day,

and I got real close
to a big bird

and old Floyd, he
really got excited.

And he said, "Hell, a man
don't even have to aim.

"If he can just point a gun he
can get an eagle this way."

And there was this
dude from Boston

and he had all kinds of trophies in
his trophy room except an eagle.

I mean he even had
a Kodiak bear.

And so he wanted an eagle
so bad he could taste it.

And so this one time
before we were taking off,

why, he said to Floyd, he said, "Now, I
don't think you can get an eagle this way,

"but if you can get me onto
one, I'll give you $500."

Then he turned to
me and he said,

"Of course, there'd be
something in it for you, too."

So boy, we flat-out natural were
gonna get that man an eagle.

So, did you?

Well, we cruised around
for a while, you know,

west of Fort Collins,
didn't scare up anything.

And then we just sort of,
kind of drifted down

over the Rocky National Park,

and we spotted a
big, beautiful bird.

Of course, this dude, he wanted to
shoot him right away, you know.

But I said, no, let's not do that,
not over the park, you know.

'Cause we're liable
to get into trouble

when we go down there
to pick him up.

So he didn't shoot? Oh, no, sir.
Not then.

So I swung the plane
south of that old boy

and we worked him up
north, out of the park.

When he was over open land,
then I moved in real close.

Now, the eagle and
the chopper, they,

they fly at about
the same speed,

so it was just like the
bird was standing still.

Or like you were on a
platform in the sky

standing right beside him.

Yes, sir.

And that's where we made our
big mistake on that first try.

I got too close.

Hell, you could have killed
that eagle with a broom.

So what happened then?

Well, the dude fires.

Well, he practically
disintegrates his eagle.

Took us the best part of an hour
to pick up the bits and pieces.

So we take it in
to the taxidermist

and he takes one look at
that pile and he says,

"Well, boys," he says, "How
do you want this job made up?

"Duck or an eagle?

"I can play it either way."

Mr. Holmes, as a
state naturalist,

you and your associates
had been watching

Mr. Calendar for
some time, then?

Uh, yes, sir, we have.

The national publicity
on that eagle deal,

sort of scared him
off that line,

we haven't seen the
helicopter since then.

Have you had further
contact with him?

Yes, sir. We had further contact

when he turned his
attention to bears.

To bears?

Yes, sir. You see, there's about
as good a market for bears

as there are for eagles.

Well, he devised him
this sure-fire plan

to help an eastern hunter
bag himself a bear.

And how was that?

Well, he'd just trap them.

Trap them? Yes, sir.

He'd trap them,
put them in cages

and then he'd take the cages and
put them deep in the woods.

He'd take some sportsman
out to a cabin nearby.

And, well, he'd sneak out
about 5:00 in the morning

and he'd go turn the bear loose.

5:15, they'd be on the trail

and, well, by 5:30, you
got yourself a dead bear.

And this was for profit?

Boy, I'll say it was. He
charged $100 for the hunt

and $200 if the sportsman
bagged a bear.

He wasn't taking any chances. There
wasn't any doubt about that,

'cause he had starved
those poor animals,

and he knew the first thing
they'd do is stop to eat

when he set them loose.

Mr. Garrett, would
you tell us, please,

how long you've known
the defendant?

All my life.

I knew his father, I
knew his grandfather,

and his great-grandfather
and mine came north

from Texas on the
first cattle drive.

Tell us, please, about your
most recent contact with...

It all had to do
with the turkeys.

Turkeys?

About 10 years ago I lured
a family of wild turkeys

on the north edge of my ranch,

and we fed them and
protected them,

and pretty soon we
had a big colony.

The wild turkey is a
very sensitive bird.

Almost extinct in these parts,

and that's a crime in itself, because
that's our real national bird.

You kept a close watch
on these birds, then?

So did Floyd Calendar.

Well, how do you know that?

Well, after they increased in
number, they began to decline.

Objection, Your Honor.

Sustained.

Let me rephrase the question
to the witness, Your Honor.

Mr. Garrett,

did you have evidence

to show that Mr. Calendar

had taken an active interest in the
number of turkeys you had on your ranch?

Objection.

Your Honor, I want it noted that Mr.
Garrett stated

that these were in fact wild birds
that he lured onto his land

and not birds that he had
purchased or bred or raised.

So noted.

Continue, Mr. Garrett.

After we noticed the
number of birds declining,

and we couldn't find
a reason for it...

I mean, there was no disease,
no attacks by coyotes,

we began to worry, until
I got this letter

from a friend of mine in Boston.

He enclosed a copy
of a form letter

he received from Colorado.

Is this the letter?

That's the letter.

Exhibit F for the
prosecution, Your Honor.

Will the clerk please read the
contents of the letter to the court?

It's addressed to Mr. Daniel
Mahoney, 1212 Riverdale Drive,

Boston, Massachusetts.

"Dear, Mr. Mahoney,

"Your name has been referred
to me by a mutual friend

"as a man who enjoys the challenge
and excitement of big game hunting.

"Here in Colorado, we offer
two trophies in one trip

"that are a magnificent addition
to any sportsman's collection.

"I can guarantee you what no other
guide in America can guarantee.

"Come to the Rockies,
and I'll show you

"how to bag both of
our national birds,

"a baldheaded eagle
and a wild turkey."

It's signed, "Floyd Calendar,
Centennial, Colorado."

Mr. Garrett,

where did Mr. Calendar get the turkeys
that he guaranteed in that letter?

From my protected sanctuary.
Objection.

Your Honor, if Mr. Garrett may be allowed
to answer, I believe you'll be satisfied.

Go ahead, Mr. Garrett.

When I got the letter
from Dan Mahoney,

I staked one of my men
out on the preserve,

and sure enough, after a while,
here comes Floyd with a hunter

from Wisconsin
shooting my turkeys.

Objection.

The turkeys I tried to
protect on my own land.

Mr. Garrett, there's been
a lot of ugly rumors

circulating about the
incident in question.

Would you mind telling the
court just what you did

when you confronted Mr.
Calendar about the turkeys?

Yes, I was angry.

I was real angry.

And I caught up with him
at the Flor De Mexico...

Flor de Mexico, what is that?

A restaurant.

A Mexican restaurant?

A cantina?

That's right.

Is that in Centennial
and is it owned by a

Senor Marquez?

Manolo Marquez.

His father owned it before him.

Thank you.

You're on quite good terms
with the owner, aren't you?

And his sister. Objection, Your Honor.
Irrelevant.

Mr. Prescott, I'm afraid I don't
see the relevancy, either.

The relevancy is, Your Honor,

that an incident occurred

involving my client and Mr.
Garrett.

Mr. Garrett chose to pick
a spot where he knew

he was under protection
of his closest friends.

The Mexican cantina owned by
Senorita Marquez and her brother.

Marquez.

You may answer the question, Mr.
Garrett.

The question was...

I know the question.

Miss Marquez and her brother
are close friends of mine.

And you do pay regular
visits there?

That's right.

Was it on one of
your regular visits

to this Mexican cantina
owned by your close friends

that you accosted Mr. Calendar?

Your Honor, I have to object.

It's all right. I'll
answer the question.

It was in the cantina.

And I did accost him.

Did you lay hands on him physically?
You bet I did.

What'd you say to
him at that time?

I think I said something like...

We're not interested in
"something like," Mr. Garrett.

We wanna know exactly
what you said.

I said, "Calendar, if
you ever step foot

"on my turkey range
again, I'll kill you."

You threatened his life?
You bet I did.

I told him if I was there when
he came, I'd do it there.

I said if I missed him when
he was sneaking around,

I'd hunt him down and
drop him where he stood.

And we have witnesses who
will testify, Mr. Garrett,

that you also said
if he ever set foot

in the Mexican cantina owned
by your close friends,

you'd kill him where he sat.

That's what I said.

And I think he knew I meant it.

Since then we haven't
lost any turkeys.

Here's a shot of the two of them
coming up the steps together.

They're gonna print
it on page one.

Perfect. Perfect.

He writes off half the
hunters in the state

and a whole horde of Anglo
bigots at the same time.

You know something,
Paul was right.

He's not cut out for politics.

Morning.

See the paper? No.

Guilty?

Yeah. Guilty of operating
a zoo without a license.

What?

He kept the bears in cages
for periods of over 30 days.

I can't believe that.

For killing 413 bald eagles,

200 bears and 81 of my turkeys,

they fined him $50.

How can they do that? You had proof.
The state had proof.

That's the trouble.
All we had was proof.

Calendar had tradition.

A man isn't guilty of anything
around here unless he's an Indian,

or a Chicano.

They actually acquitted
him of every major count.

And they put Flor and
me on the front page.

Just in case somebody
missed the point

that Calendar's lawyer was
trying to be so subtle about.

I can't tell you why, but whenever
I have something to think out,

I think it out best
on the reservation.

Oh, Paul, it's your
Arapaho blood.

Maybe that's the most
important part of me.

You have Indian heritage, too?

If you trace it back, it's only
five thirty-seconds Arapaho,

but I visit the family out here
two or three times a year.

I visit them ever since
I was a little kid.

I appreciate you
letting me come along.

You can't write your
story without it.

I'm not an Indian apologist,

but I guess if I were
20 years younger,

I'd be one of those
gun-toting activists.

Damn Shoshone.

What's the trouble
now, Aunt Augusta?

Government says we can
have a recreation hall.

Well, that's good, isn't it?

Shoshone say it has
to be on their land.

I see, you want it on your land.

We may have to go to war.

You see, the Shoshone
and the Arapaho

have been enemies as far
back as anyone can remember.

And some people don't
want to forget.

She's not serious about war?

Ask the agent. He knows.

He sleeps in town. That's true.

Paul, what does she mean?

She means, the Indian Affairs
agent sleeps in town

because he doesn't want to
spend his nights out here.

But I thought...

Everybody thinks the
Indian lives in peace

on the land that they love.

For some, that's true. I can't
get her to live anywhere else.

It's also true that they haven't lived
in peace since President Arthur,

and all the white man's wisdom
moved the last of the Arapaho

from Colorado up here on
this reservation in Wyoming,

that already belonged
to the Shoshone.

Arthur? That'd be 1880.

1883. There is enough
land here for two tribes,

but not when they're
mortal enemies.

They're still fighting? Because
they made General Custer head

of Indian Affairs.

Custer didn't govern
Indians, he fought them.

In 1876, General
Custer left his office

to go to the Little Big Horn.

And he said,

"Don't do anything
until I get back."

Yeah, and they haven't
done a damn thing since.

Now you take care of yourself.

Paul,

did you hear what happened
to Sam Loper's son?

He died.

No.

Drowned

in a ditch.

A ditch two feet deep.

He's not the first, Paul,

and he won't be the last.

I see too many drunk.

Too many dying

or killing someone
they don't even know

because they're driving on
the wrong side of the road

and they don't know that either.

Or like my boy,

they just stumble in
a ditch and drown.

I'm sorry, Sam.

I am, too, Paul.

And what good is that?

To be sorry.

To wake up sorry.

To go to bed sorry.

To live each day sorry.

To die sorry.

The boy left a wife
and three children.

She's a heavy drinker.
Hasn't been sober in days.

Where are the children?

They're with Sam's daughter.

That's one thing
that hasn't changed.

The Indian has a strong sense of family.
They look after their own.

But, damn it, there's no reason
for life to be wasted like that.

Paul, what can we do?

Go to the mission
and raise hell,

and watch it happen
all over again.

What is it, Paul? What
causes the pattern?

It's what Aunt Augusta said.

The men who sleep in town.

The awful problem is that
no girls in America,

and I mean none, are better brought
up than these Indian girls.

They get traditional
teaching at home,

they study here at the mission.

They're clean, devout, filled
with the excitement of life,

and then they marry.

Now, who do they marry?

They marry the tall, good-looking
young men on the reservation.

And what happens
to these young men

who play basketball so
well when they're 19?

Some find a place
for themselves.

Well, more than ever
before, actually.

It's over 30% on this
reservation go to college now.

But too many of them drift.

Lose interest because they feel
no one's interested in them.

They feel they have
no future, no hope.

So they start to drink.

After the first baby, the husband
starts beating his wife.

Actually, the only contact
she can have with him,

is to join him drinking.

Look at it.

What in the hell can a man say?

Think about the way
they were once.

Proud and strong.

They ruled this land.

It was theirs in a way
it's never been ours.

The Indian never intended to mold
himself into white man's ways.

Why should he?

His ways made sense
for centuries.

So our great plans of fitting
him into white society

were doomed from the start.

He formed an indigestible mass
in the belly of progress.

And he had to be regurgitated.

Like Jonah.

He came out about as
well as he came in.

It was inevitable that his land
would be taken away from him.

The white man was in motion.

The Indian wasn't.

The whole thrust of
our national life

puts us in conflict
with his simple needs.

And even though we asked him
to gather his nations together

to come and meet
with us in peace,

to come with understanding
hearts and minds,

even though they believed we
wanted peace as much as they did,

and came to celebrate
the great treaty

that would last for as
long as the eagle flies

and the waters flow,

the land treaties we offered with the
best of intentions couldn't last.

At the very moment of
signing, the wisest of men

knew the papers
weren't worth a damn.

Before the ink was dry, the
Indian was dispossessed.

No.

Full ahead!

We have no guns! Stop!

What are you doing with them?

Captured prisoners, sir.

Nits grow into lice!

Kill them.

I'm sorry.

Lew,

I may not know what I think
about Watergate or Wendell,

but I know what I think
about the American Indian.

And I suppose it's a smaller,
less important problem

than equality for
the black people,

but a lot of the world has had to deal
with slavery and its consequences,

and the American Indian is this
nation's unique moral headache.

You're a history teacher, Lew.

Can you think of
anything in the world

that parallels our treatment
of the American Indian?

The English killed
off the Tasmanians,

the Australians kept
the aborigine debased,

Brazil was the same.

Only in America did we
show total confusion.

One day we treated the Indians
like sovereign nations.

The next day we treated
them like uneducated,

uncivilized savages that
had to be exterminated.

Our policy today
is still confused,

but I'm not.

What about the land?

I'll give it to them.

Divide it up equally.

The ones that still want
to live in the communes,

let them, encourage it like they did
with the Pueblos in New Mexico.

And the others?

Well, the others are gonna have to
jump in with both feet. Sink or swim.

Like my family had to.
And like yours had to.

A lot could be lost.

The best will survive.

In legend.

In remembered ways
of doing things.

In how they treated the land.

Just look at the land.

The best part of America.
No houses,

only the road we came in on.
No fences, no boundaries,

just the wall we've built
around those people.

You know, you can preserve
natural resources,

you can't preserve human beings.

Thank God they're not whooping
cranes to be kept alive

until the last one's dead.

And they are not freaks of nature to
be kept away from the rest of us.

They're human beings.

Human beings.

You know, for a man who doesn't
want to be a politician,

that was quite a speech.

I'm just trying to be myself.

My own man.

Baby, I don't think anyone's
ever had any doubt about that.

I have.

What in the hell am I doing
living alone in that castle

when I should be
living with you?

I'm a respectable
widower of eight years.

My kids are grown and gone.

You ever been to a
Mexican wedding, Lew?

No.

The lady I love's Mexican.

Paul, no. Not now. Not before...
Flor.

Flor,

whatever Wendell
thinks of Chicanos,

or whatever he thinks
Colorado thinks of Chicanos,

doesn't mean buffalo
chips to me.

I know who you are
and I know who I am.

And I know where you belong.

Mr. Garrett?

What is it? What's happening?
It's a serenade, ma'am.

I know, but what for?

For the lady I'm gonna marry.

Is that an announcement, Paul?

That's a Mexican custom, Morgan.

I make the serenade,

the lady makes the announcement.

If she's willing.

Si. Como no?

I want a picture of the bride,
I want a picture of the groom,

I want a picture of the
interior of the restaurant,

I want a picture of all
of them together, pronto.

I've always admired the
romantic side of Paul's nature.

But politically, he could
be sealing his own grave.

That could be true, I guess.

But then he wouldn't be
the only one around here

sealing graves lately, would he?

Now you boys know how
I feel about skiing.

The mountains are a good
place for recreation.

A good place to get
away from pressures.

A resort like this that doesn't
scar the landscape is a good thing.

It brings the rewards of
nature to more people.

You wanna build some runs
along the highway, okay.

But start commercializing the
back valleys, I'll fight you.

That's if I'm elected.

The Mile High City just might
not be high enough anymore.

The University of Boulder
has copies of the letters

that Elly Zendt wrote
when she came west

with Levi in 1845.

I remember reading
where she said

that when they were
105 miles away,

she could see the
Rockies so clearly

that they could pick
out the valleys.

Now look at them.

That just might be the
saddest sight in America.

We're 10 miles away and
you can't see anything.

Just that lens of filth.

Could be that one day
when you wanna see

the unspoiled
grandeur of Colorado,

you'll have to go to Wyoming.

This is an analog.

It shows you the whole Platte
system as it is today.

But it can also show you what
could happen five years from now

if we continue to increase
the demand for water.

Now, for our purposes we'll consider
the precipitation remains constant.

You see, that first red light
represents increased demand

by communities of new people.

Have a look at the
oscilloscope now.

That shadow line was the
even flow of the river.

And you can see it
drops dramatically.

Proving what we predicted.

Now, if you'll look downstream,

real shortages down there,

but we still have a river.

What happens if you increase
the demand for industry, too?

It means that agriculture is
gonna be hurting like hell.

And if we crank in five years of drought
like we've just been through...

The Platte stops flowing.

Maybe forever.

Has Wendell seen this?

Oh, yes.

And given us lip service.

But you know as
well as I do, Paul.

He wants to bring new
industry into the state.

Do we have options? A few.

But they have to be explained
to people in hard-nosed terms.

Like, if we keep stealing
water away from our farms,

onions are gonna have
to cost $10 apiece.

I thought the job was making
sure we had good air to breathe.

Now it includes making sure
there's water to drink.

After we meet with
the soil experts,

we'll probably find
out the main thing

is making sure we
have earth to till.

This nation is running
out of everything.

We gotta get back to
a sense of res...

Oh, Sid, come in.

I bring thee good
tidings of great joy.

They like the material so far?
They love it.

Well, we can thank Paul Garrett
for giving us the feeling

of what the westerner
is doing today.

If you really want to say thanks to
Paul, I have some other news, too.

The lab?

How does the year 1889 grab you?

They can be that specific?
Mmm-hmm. So can we.

That was the exact year
that Soren Sorenson

disappeared from the
face of this earth.

Or got himself buried
by the Wendells.

Then it's all true.

And a very timely press
release, I thought.

Well, I don't know.

W-What do you mean
you don't know?

Paul Garrett's the kind of fellow
that likes to make decisions

that affect his life,

and I'd say this is a
choice that belongs to him.

Paul?

Company.

Hello, Paul.

Morgan.

Well, I'll leave you two alone.
Excuse me.

Mr. Wendell, would you
like some coffee?

No, thank you. Paul?

No, thanks, Flor.

What can I do for you, Morgan?

Well, I heard what Calendar's
attorney did to you

at the trial,

and a couple of the
boys that work for me

told me something that
I just don't believe.

What's that?

I chewed their tails out
pretty good when they told me,

I can promise you that.
What for?

Well, you know how young people
are in politics sometimes.

It was just a couple of kids,
they went to Calendar's attorney

and told him that you
were going with Flor.

They knew that he'd jump
at the chance, of course,

to discredit you with the people
that were following Calendar.

The damn little fools,

they thought they were going
to be of help to me, too.

Playing all the
bigots in the state.

It's gonna cancel
out votes for you.

They even hired
those photographers

and helped push the
shots of you and Flor

to a couple of the papers.

Paul, I want you
to know something,

I'm really embarrassed
about this.

I called the papers, I
told them what happened,

I told them what I thought of
them for printing the pictures.

And I sent those two little
rattlesnakes packing.

Well, I appreciate it, Morgan.

But it wasn't necessary.

Meaning that you figured
it was something out...

Meaning it wasn't necessary.

The pictures of our wedding
announcement appeared in the paper

a little after that.

They didn't need any pushing.
So you're not sore, then?

I'd only be sore if you
put them up to it.

Well, I just wanted to make sure
that you knew what happened.

You see, I got wind that you
were planning a little reprisal.

Reprisal?

Through that fellow Vernor.

You lost me.

You know, for a fellow

who doesn't have any place
for politics in his life,

I get the feeling that
you're learning pretty fast.

All right, point-blank
then, Paul.

Telling the history to the
world of that old beaver cave

is gonna be a source of great
embarrassment to my whole family.

Not to me personally,

but to Emma and the kids.

Maybe even their kids.

I know how much that rumor used
to hurt me when I was growing up.

But for them to read proof
that it really happened,

and for their friends to read
it in a national magazine...

Well, I'm asking you to not
let that happen to them.

Let's have a drink.

No.

I'd like you to give me your
word that you won't let Vernor

print anything about it.

I see. I know it's not
going to come out

till after the election,

but I don't think that
ancient history like that

has any more place in
influencing people's minds

about issues than that
kind of racial prejudice

that my boys were trying to
dump off on you and Flor.

Will you give me
your word, Paul?

You should know, Morgan, I wouldn't do
anything to hurt you or your family.

I do.

But I can only trust
a man I know.

And I don't know Vernor.

And I'll tell you something
else, and I mean it.

I would rather withdraw
from this race right now

than worry for a minute about
him printing something

that could destroy the reputation that
my family built developing this area.

Withdraw?

Yes, sir.

I don't want that, Morgan.

Your word, then?

You have it.

Withdraw?

Yeah, he said, he'd pull out
if I approved something

that Lew might want to
use in your article.

That's wild.

What's wild?

That he is so scared.
Scared of what?

A skeleton. A skeleton?

It might not go down as as
big a find as diplodocus,

but it does look like it's changing
the course of history in Colorado.

Throw in the towel, huh?
No, no, no.

But you just said...
He offered to.

And you're not gonna let him?

No, to tell you the truth, I didn't know
what in the hell he was talking about.

I still don't. I'm not sure
what you two are talking about.

It's a bigger find than
diplodocus, skeletons...

Oh, are you trying to tell
me that you found some bones

and Morgan believes...

You didn't find the
body of the man

that his grandparents
supposedly murdered?

He did, and I saw him.

I didn't know why he
was so terrified.

Sid told me the story.

Lew found part of it.

I took it to New York,
and I had it analyzed.

It's human, it's close
to a century old.

And the unsolved
murder was 1889.

You walk around with that tape
recorder on all the time.

You must have known about this.
Why didn't you tell me?

I have to work from facts.

Sid just verified it, and we
were going to tell you tomorrow.

I'll be damned.

What?

All this time Morgan's been
trying to manipulate me

by telling me that the past has
no relationship to the present,

but what the hell are we if we're
not the product of the past?

And what kind of future
are we going to have

if we don't realize we're
creating it right now?

That's what this campaign
is all about, isn't it?

You know, there've been a couple
of times in the last week or two

when I felt like kicking
your can back to Georgia

because you got me
involved in this race.

Now, I'm damned
glad to be in it.

I don't even know
if I'm the best man

but I know the state of
Colorado can not survive

many more people
like the Wendells.

Today we are going to hear
the views of two candidates

for a unique and
innovative office,

an office which is
going to seek ways

of dealing with an
age-old problem.

Now, that problem is survival.

The office is known as the Commissioner
of Resources and Priorities.

The candidates are two men from
the same part of the state,

Mr. Morgan Wendell and Mr.
Paul Garrett.

Mr. Wendell, your involvement
in politics to date

has been that of support for
various interest groups

attempting to lure
industry to Colorado.

Do you feel you can
satisfactorily

walk the tightrope between the
industrialists and the conservationists?

Well, Mr. Kinsman, I was hoping
someone would open up with that one.

I am dedicated to
growth for Colorado.

But as a member of a family that pioneered
land development in this state,

I am very aware of the risks
involved without careful controls

and proper planning.

I've been working for some time
with the leaders of industry

to create a responsible program

that makes careful
and constructive use

of the vast open space

and the untapped
natural resources

that we have here
at our disposal.

Mr. Garrett, you were a last-second
entry into this contest.

Would you tell us why it took you
so long to announce your candidacy?

I guess I felt that
people deserved a choice.

Well, it wouldn't seem your
views are that different.

You're both conservative businessmen
from the same community,

and I understand you
grew up together,

went through school together, and
even graduated in the same class

at the University of Colorado.

I think you'll find that Ulysses S.
Grant and Robert E. Lee

went to school together, too.

The differences between
you are that great, then?

I'd say they were basic.

Could you define them
more specifically?

Well, Morgan has always been
more interested in the future.

And I have had more contact
with the past, I guess.

Well, we are headed toward
the future, Mr. Garrett.

And we're living in what used
to be the future right now.

I think we ought to compare
that with the past

before we go on racing
straight ahead like we are.

Mr. Wendell, it seems
there's an issue

right in the community both of you
gentlemen were born and raised in,

the town of Centennial,

that gets to the core of the kind of
developmental issues you'll be facing.

Central Beet?

Yes. Could you give us
your comments, please?

Well, Central Beet has
dominated life in Colorado

since I was a little boy.

As late as 1936 it
dictated to banks

and school boards and
sheriff's offices.

For thousands of farmers
and small-town business,

Central Beet has been Colorado.

But the whole point of this new
office is that times are changing.

The sugar beet industry isn't
doing that well anymore,

so it isn't that
important to us anymore.

But the plant in Centennial
is still pumping out

the kind of industrial waste
that pollutes our air,

and I think that
has to be stopped.

Mr. Garrett?

The beet industry
isn't doing well

because so many people use
the land for other purposes.

The farmer can't afford
to reserve it for beets.

So he sells to land developers,

and they build little towns
for the people back east.

And that drives up the price and
leaves the farmer no alternative.

But he won't be the loser,
that's the whole point.

He'll make money from the land

and Central Beet will
make a profit, too,

from the same kind of
development you just mentioned.

Ninety-seven little Colonial
houses all in a row, huh?

Well, they've been building those a
lot longer than ranch houses, Paul.

What about the feedlots, Morgan?

They depend on the sugar
beet pulp and the molasses.

If you close Central Beet,
people like Harvey Brumbaugh

are gonna have to go somewhere else
to afford the cost of shipping.

It's better than a
whole community

having to continue absorbing all
that air pollution from the plant.

How about the cattle industry?

They depend on the feedlots.

Ah, there's the rub, isn't it?

The cattle industry.

Morgan, I'm not the only cattleman
in the state of Colorado.

No, that's true.

Only its most
eloquent spokesman.

Thank you for that.

The simple fact is, and
it's gonna be a tough one

for men like yourself,
Paul, to handle.

A whole pattern of
life is vanishing.

The time is at hand

when the cattle industry may
be forced to quit Colorado.

Quit? For land development?

No. For people who want
to live where we do.

And why shouldn't they? Why shouldn't
they be allowed to come out here

the way my ancestors
did, and yours, too.

Why shouldn't they have the same
kind of freedom that we had?

Yes, and wealth, too.

That the Wendells and the
Garretts have known?

Colorado needs cattle, Morgan.

Well, we won't ever
be without cattle.

Just cattle ranches.

Look, the feedlot
concept proved that.

You herd them into lots,
stuff them with feed,

send them off to market.

Not much romance to it,
but it gets the job done.

And that's your idea
of the future, huh?

Gonna raise cows like they raise
those new-style chickens?

They never touch the earth.

In sanitized pens
from birth to death.

We're gonna have cowboys with college
degrees and little white aprons.

We're gonna ship the manure out
in little desiccated pellets.

Well, I know it sounds a
little like Buck Rogers, Paul.

But I believe the time is coming

when we won't be able to
afford cows in Colorado.

Our land is too valuable a
commodity to the people.

We've got to look elsewhere
for cheaper land.

For now, Wyoming and Montana.

It could be a state like Indiana.
It's close to a feed supply.

On the other hand, I was reading
some reports the other day

about how you can feed
cottonseed cakes to Herefords.

Maybe the entire operation will
be moved to Alabama or Georgia.

That's not as far-fetched
as it sounds.

But I sure as hell don't
wanna see it happen.

And I'm gonna fight to see
that it doesn't happen.

You can't win, Paul.

No, you can't win, Morgan.
We can't let you win.

Everything has its limits,
even land development.

What's it gonna profit this
state if we overpopulate it

to such an extent that we strip
it of all its natural resources?

The earth isn't something
that you keep taking from,

without giving something back.

The earth is something you
protect every day of the year.

A river is something you defend
every inch of its course.

The man that tried to save that river
are all gone now, and look at it.

God, it's a public sewer.

Why? Because men like you and I

haven't done a damn thing
in the last 20 years

except sit around getting fatter and
richer, watching land development.

That's our disgrace, Morgan.

The Wendells and the Garretts.

We have to change all that.

Got to look to the past and
get back to some basics,

if we're gonna have any
future that's worth having.

Yeah.

Strong words from a strong man,

spoken on a public service
program last week.

But today is the day that the
strength of each of the candidates

is being tested.

Janice Welch now has
some early results. Jan?

Yes, Paul. I have the early
tally here from the Denver area

and as you can see, Morgan Wendell
is running ahead of Paul Garrett

at a little better
than two-to-one.

The Fort Collins area is
beginning to report too,

and Wendell is opening with a
strong lead in those precincts.

It's still far too early for...

Where's Paul? He
said he'd be here.

Mr. Wendell's progressive platform
concerning land development.

Give me another ditch, Randy.

I think you've had enough, Paul.

Bar bourbon and Platte water,

what in the hell can be
wrong with that, huh?

Come on, give me another one.
Pour it. Come on.

I've dug a deep enough ditch
for myself, didn't I?

Deep enough for the
whole damned state.

Did you know Sam Loper's
kid drowned in a ditch?

Just a two-foot ditch.

Walking along, fell
down and drowned.

This is your last one, okay?

In a damn two-foot ditch.

Over there.

I think that's him.
Yeah, I believe it is.

Paul?

Yeah.

You all right?

What are you doing?

Just

spending some time alone.

It is the American condition,
haven't you heard?

Nathan Hale. The Alamo

and the Pony Express.

Our heroes. Our symbols.

Paul... Pasquinel. McKeag.

Mercy. Zendt.

Seccombe and Brumbaugh,

Lloyd and Garrett.

All loners.

Calendar!

What the hell, Cisco, you
know what I'm talking about.

I hear you.

And we created

Morgan Wendell.

We created all the ambitious

resolute

men in this world.

Listen to that.

My God, that's lonely.

That's lonely.

But that's us. That's America.

The loneliest people on
the face of the earth.

Even the Eskimo banded
together, right, Professor?

But not us!

We have to have the log cabin

and sod hut and the line shack.

And a castle

in the middle of nowhere.

Any man or any woman

who couldn't make it on his own
was a person to be pitied.

So we had to be ingenious,

inventive.

Had to give up

the old patterns of doing things

to accept the new way.

So, I guess it's time

for the Morgan
Wendells to take over

finally out here, too.

But what a painful

price we had to pay

to wind up like...

Like that.

What a painful

price

in loneliness.

So, it's still Morgan Wendell
running ahead of Paul Garrett

with about 22% of the vote
tabulated at this point.

The gap has narrowed considerably.
But Wendell...

Paul.

Hot and black, Manolo.

Cisco,

I said some sharp things
about your uncle.

You know that was just
between him and me.

Well, he's a mean one, I'm sure
whatever you said was true.

The outlying areas are
beginning to report now.

But it's too early to call it,
with just 7% of that vote in.

Hey, I'm gonna turn
that thing off.

Showtime, ladies and gentlemen.

We tried, amigos.

The vote's still
coming in, Paul.

The vote would be in good shape
if I hadn't opened my big mouth.

Any time speaking the
truth is out of style,

we're all in a lot of trouble.

Hey, why isn't the box on?

We don't want it on right now.
I do.

Nate. I came in to
drink with a winner.

And I gotta know when I can start
buying for everybody in the place.

We're hearing from
the people, Paul.

The ones who believe in you.

The ones who heard you. The
ones who know what we've got.

And they want you to help save what
we've got before it's too late.

This was a county Wendell had
counted on carrying, however.

And, at the moment, it doesn't
look like he's going to.

Wendell appears to be in
trouble in Dawson County, too.

Trailing there on a
three-to-one basis.

Laramie County is voting
on a 50-50 basis so far,

showing no clear-cut
favorite at all.

Let's have another
look at the debate.

It seems to have given Garrett this
unsuspected groundswell of support.

What about the feedlots, Morgan?

They depend on the sugar
beet pulp and the molasses.

You close Central Beet,

people like Harvey Brumbaugh are
gonna have to go somewhere else

to afford the cost of shipping.

That's better than
a whole community

having to continue absorbing all
that air pollution from the plant.

How about the cattle industry?

What happened?

How can people vote
against progress?

Don't they understand
that I can make the land

serve them at a higher capacity

and a greater profit?

What's the matter with them?

I don't understand.

I do not understand.

A whole pattern of
life is vanishing.

Well, there's nothing quite
like a good argument, is there?

Unless, of course, it has
the answer to peace.

I don't know how this
is gonna end up,

but I know how it's been
for some friends of mine

who had to choose how
they wanted to live

and wound up making a
choice different from mine.

However the election turns out,

I think this song has
a lot to say about

how more than just
a few of us feel.

I guess he'd rather

be in Colorado

He'd rather spend
his time out where

The sky looks like a pearl

After the rain

Live in sanitized pens
from birth to death.

We're gonna have cowboys with college
degrees and little white aprons.

We'll ship the manure out in
little desiccated pellets.

Well, I know it sounds a
little like Buck Rogers, Paul.

But I believe the time is coming

when we won't be able to
afford cows in Colorado.

Our land is too valuable a
commodity to the people.

We've got to look elsewhere
for cheaper land.

For now, Wyoming and Montana.

It could be a state
like Indiana...

He'd rather play his banjo

in the morning

When the moon is scarcely gone

In the dawn, the subway's coming

I sure as hell don't
wanna see it happen.

I'm gonna fight to see
that it doesn't happen.

You can't win, Paul.

No, you can't win, Morgan.
We can't let you win.

Boulder Canyon

I guess he'd rather be

In Colorado

I guess he'd rather be

in Colorado

I guess he'd rather work

out where the only
thing you earn

Is what you spend

In the end, up in his office

In the end, a quiet cough

Is all he has to show

He lives in New York City

The earth isn't
something you take from

without ever thinking
about giving back.

The earth is something you
protect every day of the year.

A river is something you defend
every inch of its course.

We have to look to the past

and get back to some
basic principles

if there's gonna be any
future worth having.