The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955–1961): Season 2, Episode 35 - Dull Knife Strikes for Freedom - full transcript

♪ Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp ♪

♪ Brave, courageous and bold ♪

♪ Long live his fame and long live his glory ♪

♪ And long may his story be told ♪

Historians have told as many lies about

the American Indian as about any minority group

in the United States.

Marshal Wyatt Earp knew Indians did not agree

with the Indian haters who called them

"unprincipled savages."

To Marshal Earp, the Indians were people.



Some good, some bad.

And their leaders were sometimes wrong

and sometimes right.

This was a dangerous opinion for a man to hold in 1878.

And it took the fabulous saga of Dull Knife

and his break for freedom to test whether.

Wyatt's career as a peace officer

would come to an end with a prison sentence.

Please excuse us, Mr. Masterson.

Mr. Earp, we are afraid.

What about?

Chief Dull Knife and his people

have left Oklahoma.

Soldiers after them.



- Was Dull Knife on the war path?
- No no.

Cheyenne do not like Indian Territory in Oklahoma.

They wanna go back home.

Back to their own country...

Montana, Wyoming.

Well, how far does Dull Knife think he can get?

Chief Dull Knife has many warriors.

We count maybe 200 women and children.

Well, is Little Wolf in on this?

He's next to Dull Knife in command.

It's foolishness, Mr. Cousin.

There are too many miles, too many soldiers.

Now you tell your people to turn back.

We're not important enough, Mr. Earp.

Mr. Brother says maybe Dull Knife listen to you.

No, that's bad medicine, Wyatt.

It's Major Benteen.

Well, you take them in the cell room.

I better talk to the Major alone.

All right.

And they crossed the Cimarron here.

And then they raided Mead City here.

And they burnt the Chapman and Tuttle ranch in the Mulberry.

Now people are dead, houses burned.

So a posse from Dodge could be useful, Wyatt.

Well sir, in addition to being Town Marshal of Dodge,

I'm also a United States Marshal.

If you ask me to help,

well, that's what I'll do.

How soon can you start?

- Half hour.
- Good.

There's a big gap in our line...

The bushwhacker country.

I'm counting on you to plug it.

Yes, sir.

Then I'll see you tomorrow

at the Lost River Triangle.

So long, Wyatt. Good luck.

I'll be seeing you, sir.

Dull Knife raided Mead City.

Did you know about that?

No.

But Dull Knife give strict orders.

We'll have to go out there.

All of your deputies and most of mine.

All right, I'll pass the word.

- 20 minutes.
- Yes, sir.

Mr. Earp...

We're your friends.

We come to ask a favor.

Such as?

We think we take you to Dull Knife.

We think maybe you tell him to go back to Oklahoma.

You know where to find Dull Knife?

But your heart is angry.

You blame Dull Knife for raid on village.

He's the chief.

He's responsible.

Good-bye, Mr. Earp.

Sometimes you think like Indian.

Now you think like soldier.

I'm sorry.

Maybe...

Maybe Dull Knife isn't responsible for the raid.

But Major Benteen

is gonna hold him responsible.

Do you understand that?

Please.

You talk to our Chief.

Listen, my friend, Sheriff Masterson and I

must take a posse out there.

We'll be expected to turn your people back by force.

If we can.

I can't use you as scouts against your own people.

We will take you to Dull Knife.

Mr. Brother says,

"you have heart that is not white man or Indian."

We trust your heart.

Now look,

don't try and butter me up.

Why do you want me to talk to Dull Knife?

To save our people.

My friend, I can't do that.

This whole business has gone too far already.

People killed, houses burned.

The army is after Dull Knife.

I'm only one man. No matter what I think about...

We trust you.

We go now.

Please.

They wait here now.

You come with us, Mr. Earp.

All right.

Now hold it, Wyatt.

This is Lost River

and it's the worst of the bushwhacker country.

So?

Well, if Dull Knife is holed up there,

he'd have to come out along this riverbed.

And we can hold him up long enough for the soldiers to come.

That's right, Sheriff.

But not if you go in there and get yourself captured as a hostage.

Dull Knife's got himself in a tight corner.

Well, I may be wrong. And if I am

and the Cheyenne try to break out,

you gentlemen go to shooting.

And shoot you, I suppose?

Well, you're not gonna have any time to be particular.

You'll be fighting for your lives.

I'll see you later.

♪ Oh ♪

♪ the bushwhacker country is bad land ♪

♪ a law unto its own ♪

♪ well, the outlaw rides ♪

♪ and the Indian hides ♪

♪ among its caves of stone ♪

♪ for the bushwhacker country ♪

♪ is law unto its own ♪

♪ be wary, my friend ♪

♪ every tree, every bend of the trail ♪

♪ may be your doom ♪

♪ for the bushwhacker country ♪

♪ will swallow you like a tomb. ♪

Great Dhief Dull Knife.

You remember me?

My friend. Marshal Earp.

You brought men who killed my daughter to justice.

I do not forget.

I am sorry we have to meet again this way.

Sorry?

You and your people are on a breakout.

I have orders from the Army to help stop you.

Marshal Earp has good scouts.

They bring him across our path.

Don't blame Mr. Cousin and Mr. Brother.

They're trying to be loyal to you.

Soldiers and posse men

are close behind us.

You and your men guide Lost River.

Let us not speak lies.

All right.

Then who raided Mead City?

Not Dull Knife.

People were killed

by Indians.

Ah!

Little wolf, go!

I will ask Little Wolf if he knows about this.

I do not.

My friend, you're in trouble.

How can a sensible man and a great chief

hope to make it all the way to Montana?

We have come this far.

I can't understand why you broke out.

You can understand freedom.

If you had a fair chance.

White man always give us fair chance.

After fight at Washita,

the soldiers say,

"make peace and go home."

Then politicians in Washington say,

"what is home to a Cheyenne?

"Send them to Oklahoma."

They promised you

that you could go back to the mountains?

Yes.

In writing.

Well, then they lied to you.

But a breakout only makes things worse.

You become killers, outlaws.

Who can control a young man?

If Cheyenne did this thing in Mead City,

it was against my orders.

I believe you.

But it wasn't common sense

to expect that you could travel

1,000 miles through a white man's country.

What is common sense?

Surrender.

Go back to Oklahoma Territory.

No.

Our young men...

About so many of them,

I will punish them quickly.

I promise.

No.

You think I lie to you?

They must be rounded up and turned over to me.

That's the law, my friend.

And what if I do this?

I can't make deals.

You will try to stop us from moving north

out of Lost River?

Those are my orders from Major Benteen.

Ah!

I knew you couldn't trust them.

No, you leave us right here.

And get on back to the river gap.

This could be a trick to sneak by us.

We're not gonna leave you tied up for a scalping party.

I said leave us alone!

- Are you loco, Wyatt?
- No!

Dull Knife's gone after the Indians that raided Mead City.

I think he'll turn them in to me.

Turn his own boys in for a hanging or prison?

- Come on, Wyatt!
- Look, Mr. Masterson,

this is a federal posse.

Yes, sir.

All right then.

You go on back there!

You want a lot of Cheyenne to make you look like a greenhorn?

No.

I guess you're right.

No sign of Indians anywhere, sir.

Very well.

Ride back to Captain Halleck

and tell him to assemble all the patrols.

We'll move on toward Lost River.

Yes, sir.

Marshal Earp, Chief Little Wolf.

How do you do?

Untie them.

Six of our young men

admit their hearts were bad.

They will go with you,

according to white man's law.

There are only four prisoners.

No, there are six.

Those two in the back.

Claim the right to die fighting.

Is that necessary?

Our laws aren't too tough on your people.

Young Bear and Lame Eagle

commanded the raid.

For that they must die.

I have decided, Mr. Earp.

Just wild boys who probably got drunk.

No, they risked their freedom.

You have been free always.

What do you know about prison camp far from home?

And have you ever seen our home, Mr. Earp?

There is brave water.

It does not sulk in ponds and puddles.

Our rivers leap off the forbidden cliff

with the sound of war drums.

And in our homeland, the buffalo wait for us.

They have fled beyond the range

of white man's gun.

Perhaps it must soon be that the buffalo

and the Cheyenne will be driven

to the edge of the world.

But if we must die,

we seek the Liberty to die at home.

Is that too great a freedom to ask of white man?

No more prison camp, Mr. Earp.

If those two had obeyed orders,

we might have reached our home in peace.

We would not have been stopped

if they had not burned and killed.

There's no sense to this fight.

Stop it!

You are still my prisoner.

Please, Mr. Earp. It is our law.

That was murder.

Lame Eagle was his only son, Marshal Earp.

We grant them an honorable death.

And you call it murder.

We are happy men riding home in the sunshine.

There is no pain in us for making promises.

Because we never keep promises.

I don't believe that.

We fight and kill no more.

Unless white man corners us.

You expect to have me let you go through.

No, not now.

You think like all your brothers.

Bring white soldier.

We caught this man two hours ride from our camp.

Major Benteen and his troop of pony soldiers

will attack us from the rear.

You and your men will try to stop our retreat.

There will be fighting.

Yes, I guess there will be.

Am I free to go?

You are still my friend.

Go.

Thank you.

What about Mr. Brother and Mr. Cousin?

They go with you.

This time we fight with our people.

I can't let you go through the gap.

You know that.

I've got orders from the Army.

We know.

Good-bye, Mr. Earp.

Take white soldier, my friend.

You will need him.

Also the prisoners.

Must we kill a friend?

Or he will kill us.

Mr. Earp?

I saw their camp.

They have at least 100 braves all armed.

Well, Major Benteen isn't gonna be riding out here with just one troop.

Yes, sir, he is.

It was me.

I let Dull Knife go through.

Major Benteen will expect us to fight.

Benteen and Custer and the others

expected us to fight at the Little Big Horn, too.

It'll be another Custer's Massacre.

Come on, let's head for the gap.

Now we should hit 'em before sundown.

I hope Earp brought enough men to shut off

the Lost River Trail.

You ride back and get the troops started!

Well, for god sakes, Wyatt!

Figured you'd been burned at the stake by now.

Chief Dull Knife was very polite to me.

Oh, Corporal Jordan,

this is Sheriff Masterson.

Howdy.

He claims that Major Benteen's gonna

attack the Cheyenne with just one troop.

Benteen must be loco.

Yeah well, they can't tell him that.

Hey, Casey, you and Tibbs

ride into Dull Knife's camp.

Tell Dull Knife that he can come through the gap.

I want him to move fast.

Wait a minute, you're not gonna let them...

Yes, I am.

Let those Indians go through to Montana.

Go on, move!

We'll catch it from the Army.

Just me, Mr. Masterson.

I made the decision.

Now I don't make a last ditch fight to stop the Cheyenne

from going home.

With a government promise then they could go.

They'll call you names.

You know something? I think you're right.

Now look, I left four Indian prisoners

tied to the horses just around that bend over there.

You take your deputies and go pick 'em up.

Then head back for Dodge city.

Yes, sir.

You know, Benteen can arrest you.

He sure can.

Well, what are you gonna say?

Nothing.

You can visit me in jail sometime.

Now go on, move.

Wyatt says to get back to Dodge with some prisoners.

Come on, hit the leather!

Yeah, that'll be the Major.

Yeah.

He'll be snorting fire.

Well, I hope we waste a lot of time

showing him my hide.

Dull Knife needs all the head start he can get.

Ah, you explain it to the Major, Mr. Earp.

He'll cool off and realize

you done the right thing.

I wonder if he will.

Wyatt.

Where are the Indians?

They've gone.

Your men, where are they?

I sent them back to Dodge city.

They've got the Indians who raided our people.

You had orders to hold this gap.

Why didn't you?

Sir, Mr. Earp thought...

Corporal!

I'm asking Mr. Earp a straight question.

Well, sir, I never explain.

The Indians got away, let's just leave it at that.

Now, Wyatt! I will not tol...

Marshal Earp, you will consider yourself under arrest.

You will report to the federal judge nearest our command.

Yes, sir.

Corporal, march your horse

- and return to the troop.
- Yes, sir.

Would it be too much to ask you, Marshal,

which way Dull Knife was heading?

He was heading home.

- Captain.
- Yes, sir?

Major Benteen filed these charges against Marshal Earp.

Where is he?

He's due at any moment, your honor.

He's been out in campaign against Dull Knife.

Yes, I know.

Marshal Earp?

You refuse to plead

either guilty or not guilty.

Now these are very serious charges.

Malfeasance in office, cowardice,

refusal to assist in stopping the escape of hostile Indians.

Have you any statement to make to this court?

No, sir.

Major Benteen, sir.

This is Corporal Jordan.

Very well.

The court will hear your testimony

in support of your accusations.

If the court please,

I ask that the courtroom be cleared.

For what reason, Major?

My statement will involve military matters

of a confidential nature.

I see.

Very well.

Clear the court.

So after my bad temper cooled somewhat,

I listened to Corporal Jordan's story.

The Corporal was a prisoner in Dull Knife's camp.

He says that I had badly underestimated the Indians' strength

and that I would have stood no chance

to capture them with the force at my disposal.

Then, uh, Marshal Earp

prevented you from making a tragic blunder.

That's...

That's about the size of it, Your Honor.

So I wish to withdraw my charges.

And apologize to Marshal Earp.

Thank you, Major.

The Army should thank you.

And Major Benteen,

when will you people get enough men out here

to do the job?

Never, Judge.

Starving our Western Army

is somebody's idea of national defense.

Hmm.

Case dismissed.

Thank you, sir.

Oh, Marshal Earp...

I don't know what can compensate you

for the three weeks of embarrassment

and kicking around by the Army... and the law.

Well, sir, I'm quite happy about it all.

♪ Well, he cleaned up the country ♪

♪ The old Wild West country ♪

♪ He made law and order prevail ♪

♪ And none can deny it ♪

♪ The legend of Wyatt ♪

♪ Forever will live on the trail ♪

♪ Oh, Wyatt Earp, Wyatt Earp ♪

♪ Brave, courageous and bold ♪

♪ Long live his fame and long live his glory ♪

♪ And long may his story be told ♪