The West (1996): Season 1, Episode 1 - The People - full transcript

Man: DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND ME,

BUT UNDERSTAND ME FULLY
AND MY AFFECTION FOR THE LAND.

I NEVER SAID THE LAND
WAS MINE TO DO WITH AS I CHOSE.

THE ONE WHO HAS THE RIGHT
TO DISPOSE OF IT

IS THE ONE WHO HAS CREATED IT.

I CLAIM A RIGHT
TO LIVE ON MY LAND,

AND ACCORD YOU THE PRIVILEGE
TO LIVE ON YOURS...

HIN-MAH-TOO-YAH-LAT-KEHT,
CHIEF JOSEPH.

Narrator: THE WEST STRETCHES

FROM THE MISSISSIPPI
TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN,

FROM THE NORTHERN PLAINS
TO THE RIO GRANDE...



MORE THAN TWO MILLION
SQUARE MILES

OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY
LANDSCAPE ON EARTH.

ITS TERRAIN HAS ALWAYS
BECKONED... AND REPELLED.

IT IS A LAND

OF ALMOST IMPENETRABLE
MOUNTAIN BARRIERS...

THE ROCKIES AND WASATCH,
THE BITTERROOTS AND BIGHORNS,

THE SIERRA NEVADA
AND SANGRE de CRISTO,

THE CONFUSIONS, THE CRAZIES,
AND THE BLACK HILLS.

IT IS A LAND OF RIVERS...

THE COLORADO AND COLUMBIA
AND MISSOURI,

THE SWEETWATER AND THE PLATTE,
SAND CREEK AND THE GREASY GRASS,

THE RIVER
THAT SCOLDS ALL OTHERS...

AND THE RIVER OF NO RETURN.

Man: IT IS A DREAM.



IT IS WHAT PEOPLE
WHO HAVE COME HERE

FROM THE BEGINNING OF TIME
HAVE DREAMED.

IT'S A DREAM LANDSCAPE.

TO THE NATIVE AMERICAN,
IT'S FULL OF SACRED REALITIES.

POWERFUL THINGS...

IT'S A LANDSCAPE THAT
HAS TO BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED.

AND I SAY ON OCCASION,

IT MAY HAVE TO BE BELIEVED
IN ORDER TO BE SEEN.

Narrator: THE WEST IS A LAND
OF ENDLESS SEAS OF GRASS,

UNIMAGINABLE DISTANCES,
INFINITE HORIZONS.

BUT IT WAS NEVER EMPTY.

PEOPLE CAME FROM EVERY POINT
OF THE COMPASS.

TO THE SPANISH, WHO TRAVELED UP
FROM MEXICO, IT WAS "THE NORTH."

BRITISH AND FRENCH EXPLORERS
ARRIVED BY COMING SOUTH...

THE CHINESE AND THE RUSSIANS,
BY GOING EAST.

IT WAS THE AMERICANS...
THE LAST TO ARRIVE...

WHO NAMED IT "THE WEST."

BUT TO THE PEOPLE WHO WERE
ALREADY THERE, IT WAS HOME...

THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE.

THEY HAD LIVED THERE SO LONG

THAT THEIR STORIES OF CREATION
LINKED THEM TO THE LAND ITSELF.

THE COMANCHES SAID
THEY CAME FROM SWIRLS OF DUST.

THE HIDATSA,
FROM THE BOTTOM OF A BIG LAKE.

AMONG THE SACRED BUNDLES OF THE
ZUNIS WAS A STONE, THEY SAID,

WITHIN WHICH BEATS
THE HEART OF THE WORLD.

BUT SOON
THERE WOULD BE OTHER MYTHS...

MYTHS OF GOLDEN CITIES,
TREASURE FOR THE TAKING,

SOULS IN NEED OF SALVATION.

AND ANOTHER LONGER-LASTING MYTH,

EVENTUALLY PURSUED
BY TWO AMERICANS

ACROSS THE VASTNESS
OF THE WEST ITSELF...

THE MYTH OF AN ELUSIVE NORTHWEST
PASSAGE THAT WOULD LEAD THEM...

AND THEIR NATION... TO THE SEA.

IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS
MORE AMERICANS FOLLOWED...

MOUNTAIN MEN AND MISSIONARIES,

SOLITARY ADVENTURERS AND WAGON
TRAINS OF HOPEFUL PIONEERS...

A WASHED-UP
TENNESSEE POLITICIAN,

WHO FOUND A SECOND CHANCE
IN THE WEST

AND CARVED OUT A NEW REPUBLIC
OF HIS OWN...

A BROAD-SHOULDERED CARPENTER
FROM VERMONT,

WHO DECLARED HIMSELF CHOSEN
BY GOD

TO LEAD HIS PERSECUTED PEOPLE
TO SANCTUARY IN THE DESERT...

AND A DELICATE WELLESLEY
GRADUATE,

WHO BATTLED FLOOD, DISEASE,
AND FINANCIAL RUIN,

YET NEVER LOST HER LOVE
OF THE WEST.

GOLD WAS DISCOVERED,
AND THE WORLD RUSHED IN...

CHINESE PEASANTS
AND SOUTH AMERICAN ARISTOCRATS,

AND A PEACH GROWER
FROM UPSTATE NEW YORK,

WHO LEFT HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER
IN SEARCH OF EASY RICHES,

ONLY TO FIND NOTHING...

EXCEPT WHAT HE WOULD REMEMBER

AS THE GREATEST ADVENTURE
OF HIS LIFE.

Man:
THE WEST IS NOT ANY ONE THING.

IT IS A TREMENDOUS COLLECTION
OF STORIES,

OF INDIVIDUAL HUMAN BEINGS
WHO COULD AT ONE POINT

DEMONSTRATE THE HIGHEST VALUES
OF HEROISM

AND THE LOWEST VALUES
OF COWARDICE,

OF CRUELTY AND NOBILITY,

AND ALL THE OTHER THINGS
THAT GO INTO MAKE GREAT STORIES,

WHICH IS WHY THE HISTORY
OF THE WEST

IS ONE OF THE GREAT STORIES
OF ALL TIME.

BUT NO INTELLIGENT PERSON
CAN LOOK AT IT

WITHOUT FEELING A MIX
OF BOTH PRIDE AND SHAME.

Narrator: THE WEST WOULD HELP
IGNITE THE CIVIL WAR

AND WITNESS SOME
OF ITS MOST SAVAGE KILLING.

THEN, AFTER THE WAR WAS OVER,

UNION HEROES WHO HAD FOUGHT
TO FREE THE SLAVES IN THE EAST

WOULD TRY TO SUBJUGATE
THE INDIANS OF THE WEST.

MEXICAN AMERICANS, WHO HAD LIVED
IN THE WEST FOR CENTURIES,

WOULD FIND THEMSELVES
OUTNUMBERED

IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY,

WHILE A GROUP OF PIONEERS
FROM THE SOUTH

WOULD FIND IN THE WEST
THEIR OWN PROMISED LAND.

AND NATIVE PEOPLES WOULD FIGHT
THEIR LAST, GALLANT WARS

TO HOLD ONTO THEIR LANDS...

THEN BEGIN A NEW STRUGGLE...
SIMPLY TO REMAIN THEMSELVES.

Man: I THINK THAT THE WEST

IS THE MOST POWERFUL REALITY
IN THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY.

IT'S ALWAYS HAD A POWER,
AN ATTRACTION

THAT DIFFERENTIATED IT FROM
THE REST OF THE UNITED STATES.

WHETHER THE WEST WAS A PLACE
TO BE CONQUERED,

OR THE WEST AS IT IS TODAY...

A PLACE TO BE PROTECTED
AND NURTURED.

IT IS THE REGENERATIVE FORCE
OF AMERICA.

Narrator: THE WEST
IS A STORY OF CONQUEST...

OF COMPETING PROMISES AND
COMPETING VISIONS OF THE LAND.

MANY PEOPLES LAID CLAIM
TO THE WEST,

AND MANY PLAYED A PART
IN SETTLING IT.

BUT IN THE END, ONLY ONE NATION
WOULD DEMAND IT ALL...

AND TAKE IT.

AND IN THE END, BY MOVING WEST,

THAT NATION
WOULD DISCOVER ITSELF.

Man: WHEN AMERICANS TELL STORIES
ABOUT THEMSELVES,

THEY SET THOSE STORIES
IN THE WEST.

THE AMERICAN HEROES
ARE WESTERN HEROES.

WHEN YOU BEGIN TO THINK

OF THE QUINTESSENTIAL
AMERICAN CHARACTERS,

THEY'RE ALWAYS SOMEPLACE
OVER THE HORIZON.

THERE'S ALWAYS SOMEPLACE
IN THE WEST,

WHERE SOMETHING WONDERFUL
IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.

IT'S NOT WHAT HAS HAPPENED...

IT'S SOMETHING WONDERFUL
IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.

AND EVEN WHEN WE TURN
THAT AROUND...

EVEN WHEN WE SAY,
WELL, SOMETHING HAS BEEN LOST...

WHAT'S LOST
IS ALWAYS IN THE WEST.

Momaday:
MYTH IS SUCH AN INTEGRAL PART

OF THE CONCEPTION OF THE WEST.

PEOPLE THINK ABOUT IT
IN TERMS OF MYTH...

ALWAYS HAVE, I BELIEVE.

KIOWA STORY HAS IT

THAT EIGHT CHILDREN WERE PLAYING
IN THE WOODS,

AND THERE WERE SEVEN SISTERS
AND THEIR BROTHER.

THE BOY IS PRETENDING
TO BE A BEAR,

AND HE'S CHASING HIS SISTERS,
WHO ARE PRETENDING TO BE AFRAID,

AND THEY'RE RUNNING.

A TERRIBLE THING HAPPENS
IN THE COURSE OF THE GAME.

THE BOY
ACTUALLY TURNS INTO A BEAR.

AND WHEN THE SISTERS SEE THIS,
THEY ARE TRULY TERRIFIED,

AND THEY RUN FOR THEIR LIVES,
THE BEAR AFTER THEM.

THEY PASS THE STUMP OF A TREE,

AND THE TREE SPEAKS TO THEM
AND SAYS,

"IF YOU WILL CLIMB UP ON ME,
I WILL SAVE YOU."

SO THE LITTLE GIRLS SCAMPER
ON TOP OF THE TREE STUMP.

AND AS THEY DO SO,
IT BEGINS TO RISE INTO THE AIR.

THE BEAR COMES TO KILL THEM,
BUT THEY'RE BEYOND ITS REACH.

AND IT REARS UP AND SCORES THE
BARK ALL AROUND WITH ITS CLAWS.

THE STORY ENDS...
THE GIRLS ARE BORN INTO THE SKY,

AND THEY BECOME THE STARS
OF THE BIG DIPPER.

IT'S A WONDERFUL STORY

BECAUSE IT ACCOUNTS
FOR THE ROCK... DEVIL'S TOWER...

THIS MONOLITH THAT RISES NEARLY
A THOUSAND FEET INTO THE AIR,

AND IT ALSO RELATES MAN
TO THE STARS.

Narrator:
FOR A THOUSAND GENERATIONS,

THE WEST BELONGED
ONLY TO INDIANS...

PERHAPS MORE THAN THREE MILLION
OF THEM.

THE KALISPEL AND CLATSOP
AND TONKAWA...

THE TEWA, PAIUTE, AND PAWNEE...

THE HOPI, MOJAVE,
CADDO, AND CHINOOK...

THE UMATILLA AND THE UTE.

THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO LIVED
IN LARGE HOUSES

MADE FROM THE TALLEST TREES
ON EARTH.

AND PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN ISOLATED
SHELTERS FASHIONED FROM BRUSH.

PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN SKIN TEPEES
AND TOWERING CLIFF-TOP CITIES.

SOME STARTED FIRES
TO MAKE PASTURES,

OR BUILT DAMS AND DIVERTED
STREAMS TO IRRIGATE THEIR CROPS.

OTHERS DID NOT DARE

ALTER THE EARTH THEY BELIEVED
TO BE THEIR MOTHER

AND PRAYED TO THE SPIRITS
OF THE ANIMALS THEY HUNTED.

Momaday: THE INDIAN FEELS

THAT HE IS RELATED
TO THE ANIMAL WORLD...

THAT ALL LIVING THINGS
ARE RELATED.

IN THE KIOWA ORAL TRADITION,

ONE OF THE WAYS TO INDICATE
TIME LONG PAST IS TO SAY,

"WELL, THIS HAPPENED
WHEN DOGS COULD TALK."

Narrator: IN SOME TRIBES,

WAR WAS CONSIDERED
THE HIGHEST CALLING,

AND WEALTH WAS MEASURED
IN SLAVES.

IN OTHERS,
WOMEN OWNED ALL THE PROPERTY,

AND WHEN A COUPLE MARRIED, THE
MAN JOINED HIS WIFE'S FAMILY.

WHILE IN STILL OTHER TRIBES,

THE PUNISHMENT
FOR AN UNFAITHFUL WIFE

WAS TO CUT OFF PART OF HER NOSE.

Man: THE WEST OF THE AMERICAN
CONTINENT WAS AS DIVERSE

AS ALMOST ANY PLACE
IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD,

HAD PEOPLE SPEAKING SEVEN
DIFFERENT LANGUAGE FAMILIES,

EACH AS DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER

AS EACH ONE IS DIFFERENT
FROM INDO-EUROPEAN.

YOU HAVE PEOPLE WHO DON'T USE
IN THEIR ORDINARY CONVERSATION

"I," "MY," "ME."

EVERYTHING IS "WE."

YOU HAD SOCIETIES THAT WERE
INTENSELY AGRICULTURAL,

LIKE THE PUEBLOS
IN THE SOUTHWEST.

WE HAVE CULTURES IN ALASKA
AND THE SUBARCTIC

THAT DIDN'T SEE SUNLIGHT
FOR HALF OF THE YEAR,

AND SO THEIR WHOLE CONCEPT
OF TIME WAS DIFFERENT.

YOU HAD CULTURES ON THE PLAINS
WHERE EACH PERSON DISCOVERED,

THROUGH A VISION QUEST,
HIS OR HER OWN INNER VOICE,

AND THEN CAME BACK
AFTER A WEEK OF ISOLATION,

AND TOLD THE REST OF THE TRIBE,
"WHO I AM."

AND NOBODY COULD ARGUE WITH THAT
BECAUSE IT CAME FROM WITHIN.

Woman: YOU KNOW THERE'S THIS
MARVELOUS STEREOTYPE OUT THERE

THAT BEFORE WHITE PEOPLE CAME,
THE WORLD HERE WAS PERFECT,

THAT PEOPLE LIVED IN A PARADISE

IN WHICH THEY WERE THE MOST
ELEGANT, THE MOST MORAL,

THE MOST ELEVATED
OF ALL HUMANITY.

THAT'S NOT TRUE.

WE WERE HUMAN BEINGS, AND WE
LIVED IN OUR OWN SOCIETIES,

AND WE DID THINGS
THAT ALL HUMAN BEINGS DO,

AND SOME OF IT WAS ELEVATED
AND MARVELOUS AND ADMIRABLE,

AND SOME OF IT
WAS PRETTY HORRIBLE.

Narrator: PEOPLE WHO WORSHIPPED
DIFFERENT GODS,

INHABITED ENTIRELY
DIFFERENT WORLDS,

AND WERE SOMETIMES UNAWARE
OF EACH OTHER'S EXISTENCE,

WERE, NONETHELESS,
LINKED TOGETHER.

WEBS OF ANCIENT TRADING TRAILS
STRETCHED IN EVERY DIRECTION

AND COVERED EVERY CORNER
OF THE WEST.

BUFFALO ROBES WARMED PEOPLE
WHO HAD NEVER SEEN A BUFFALO.

CORNMEAL WAS EATEN BY PEOPLE
WHO HAD NEVER PLANTED CORN.

AND OCEAN SHELLS DECORATED
THE CLOTHING

OF PEOPLE WHO LIVED
A THOUSAND MILES FROM THE SEA.

IN THE HIGH COUNTRY
WHERE THE PRESENT STATES

OF NEW MEXICO, COLORADO, UTAH,
AND ARIZONA COME TOGETHER,

THERE ONCE LIVED A GREAT PEOPLE,
REMEMBERED NOW AS THE ANASAZI.

FOR CENTURIES,
THEIR CIVILIZATION THRIVED,

TRADING WITH OTHER CULTURES

TO THE NORTH AND SOUTH,
EAST AND WEST.

THEY DAMMED STREAMS
TO WATER THEIR CROPS,

LAID OUT MILE UPON MILE
OF BROAD, STRAIGHT ROADS

ACROSS THE DESERT,

AND BUILT LOFTY TOWNS
WHERE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE LIVED.

THE ANASAZI FLOURISHED,
AND THEIR NUMBERS GREW.

THEN... THOUGH NO ONE KNOWS
FOR CERTAIN WHY...

THEY WERE FORCED
TO ABANDON IT ALL.

NEWCOMERS... THE ANCESTORS
OF THE UTE AND THE NAVAJO...

EVENTUALLY TOOK OVER THE REGION.

THE ANASAZI
WERE NOT THE FIRST PEOPLE

TO BE DISPLACED BY ANOTHER
IN THE WEST.

AND THEY WOULD NOT BE THE LAST.

Dorris: PEOPLE CALLED THEMSELVES
"HUMAN BEINGS" OR "THE PEOPLE,"

OR, BASICALLY, "US,"

AND EVERYBODY ELSE, KNOWN
AND UNKNOWN, WAS "THEM,"

AND IT MADE DEALING
WITH THE CONSTANT SURPRISE

OF ENCOUNTERING PEOPLE
WHO SPOKE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES...

HAD A DIFFERENT ETHNIC LOOK,
HAD DIFFERENT RELIGIONS,

DIFFERENT POLITICAL SYSTEMS...
A LOT EASIER TO DEAL WITH

BECAUSE "THEY"
WERE ALWAYS BIZARRE.

AND SO WHEN EUROPEANS ARRIVED
ON THE SCENE,

THEY WERE JUST ANOTHER CATEGORY
OF "THEY."

THE HARDSHIPS I ENDURED
IN THIS JOURNEYING BUSINESS

WERE LONG TO TELL...
PERIL AND PRIVATION,

STORMS AND FROST,
WHICH OFTEN OVERTOOK ME.

BY THE UNFAILING GRACE OF GOD,
OUR LORD,

I CAME FORTH FROM ALL...

ALVAR NUÑEZ CABEZA de VACA.

Narrator: ON A COLD MORNING
IN THE AUTUMN OF 1528,

30 YEARS AFTER CHRISTOPHER
COLUMBUS FIRST LANDED

IN THE NEW WORLD,

A HURRICANE
IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

BLEW A FRAIL BOAT ONTO THE COAST
OF GALVESTON ISLAND,

IN WHAT IS NOW TEXAS.

A HANDFUL OF SPANISH SOLDIERS
STAGGERED ASHORE.

THEY WERE THE FIRST EUROPEANS
TO SET FOOT IN THE WEST.

ONE OF THE SHIPWRECKED SURVIVORS

WAS A NOBLEMAN NAMED
ALVAR NUÑEZ CABEZA de VACA,

A HARDENED VETERAN
OF HALF A DOZEN WARS

AGAINST THE ENEMIES OF SPAIN.

SPAIN HAD ALREADY CONQUERED
MOST OF SOUTH AMERICA,

CENTRAL AMERICA,
AND ALL OF MEXICO,

CONVERTING THOUSANDS OF INDIANS
TO CHRIST

AND STRIPPING THE AZTEC
AND INCAN CULTURES

OF THEIR ENORMOUS WEALTH.

NOW CABEZA de VACA'S EXPEDITION
WAS PROBING NORTH,

IN SEARCH
OF EVEN GREATER TREASURE.

"WE CAME HERE TO SERVE GOD
AND HIS MAJESTY,"

ONE CONQUISTADOR WROTE,

"TO GIVE LIGHT TO THOSE
WHO WERE IN DARKNESS

AND TO GET RICH
AS ALL MEN DESIRE TO DO."

CABEZA de VACA AND HIS MEN

WERE FED AND HOUSED
BY THE COASTAL COCOS INDIANS,

WHO BELIEVED THE STRANGERS
TO HAVE MAGICAL POWERS.

BUT WHEN DYSENTERY,
CARRIED BY THE SPANISH,

KILLED ALMOST HALF THE TRIBE,

THE INDIANS
TURNED ON THE SOLDIERS.

CABEZA de VACA
AND HIS COMPANIONS

HAD HOPED TO COME AS CONQUERORS.

INSTEAD, THEY ENTERED THE WEST
AS CAPTIVES.

Cabeza de Vaca:
MY LIFE BECAME UNBEARABLE.

IN ADDITION TO MUCH OTHER WORK,

I HAD TO GRUB ROOTS
IN THE WATER

OR FROM UNDERGROUND
IN THE CANEBRAKES.

MY FINGERS GOT SO RAW
THAT IF A STRAW TOUCHED THEM,

THEY WOULD BLEED.

THE BROKEN CANES
OFTEN SLASHED MY FLESH.

Narrator:
AFTER TWO YEARS OF MISERY,

CABEZA de VACA FLED HIS CAPTORS.

HE BEGAN TRADING... CARRYING
SHELLS AND MESQUITE FRUIT

TO THE TRIBES OF THE INTERIOR

AND BRINGING BACK
TO THE COASTAL TRIBES FURS,

FLINT FOR ARROWHEADS,
AND RED OCHER FOR FACE PAINTING.

BECAUSE HE BELONGED
TO NO TRIBE HIMSELF,

HE WAS WELCOMED
WHEREVER HE WENT.

BY THE SUMMER OF 1534,
CABEZA de VACA

AND THE THREE REMAINING
SURVIVORS OF THE EXPEDITION

DECIDED TO TRY TO MAKE THEIR WAY
TO MEXICO CITY.

THEY WANDERED ON FOOT
FOR TWO YEARS,

THROUGH TEXAS,
ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE,

MOVING FROM ONE TRIBE
TO THE NEXT.

THROUGHOUT HIS JOURNEY,
CABEZA de VACA

HAD EXPECTED
TO FIND ONLY CRUEL SAVAGES,

BUT HE MET TRIBES
THAT IMPRESSED HIM

WITH THEIR GENTLENESS AND THEIR
GENEROSITY TO STRANGERS.

AND WHEN THEY ASKED FOR HIS
HELP, HE RESPONDED IN KIND,

SPEAKING OF CHRIST
WHEREVER HE COULD.

Cabeza de Vaca: SOME INDIANS

CAME BEGGING US TO CURE THEM
OF TERRIBLE HEADACHES.

SURELY EXTRAORDINARY MEN
LIKE US, THEY SAID,

EMBODIED POWERS OVER NATURE.

WHEN WE MADE THE SIGN
OF THE CROSS OVER THEM

AND COMMENDED THEM TO GOD,

THEY INSTANTLY SAID
ALL PAIN HAD VANISHED

AND GAVE US PRICKLY PEARS
AND CHUNKS OF VENISON.

Narrator: SOON CABEZA de VACA
AND HIS COMPANIONS

FOUND THEMSELVES ESCORTED
FROM VILLAGE TO VILLAGE

BY AN ARMY
OF SOME 600 ADMIRING INDIANS.

IF THEY WERE TO BE CONVERTED
TO CHRISTIANITY,

CABEZA de VACA
HAD COME TO BELIEVE,

"THEY MUST BE WON BY KINDNESS,
THE ONLY CERTAIN WAY."

White: HE BECOMES A CURER.
HE BECOMES A HEALER.

HE BECOMES AN EMISSARY OF GOD.

AND CABEZA de VACA BECOMES,
IN EFFECT,

A LEADER OF INDIAN PEOPLES.

HE MOVES THROUGH THE SOUTHWEST,

TRUDGING THROUGH THE DESERT
FROM COMMUNITY TO COMMUNITY,

AND THEN THE DREAM STOPS.

Narrator: IN THE SPRING OF 1536,
CABEZA de VACA

AND HUNDREDS OF INDIANS
FINALLY ENTERED MEXICO...

AND CAME UPON A COLUMN
OF SPANISH SOLDIERS

WHO HAD COME NORTH, DESTROYING
CROPS, LOOTING VILLAGES,

SEIZING SLAVES.

Cabeza de Vaca:
WITH HEAVY HEARTS,

WE LOOKED OUT

OVER THE ONCE LAVISHLY WATERED,
FERTILE, AND BEAUTIFUL LAND,

NOW ABANDONED AND BURNED,
AND THE PEOPLE THIN AND WEAK,

SCATTERING AND HIDING
IN FRIGHT.

Narrator: CABEZA de VACA'S
INDIAN FOLLOWERS WERE CONFUSED.

HOW COULD HE AND THESE SPANIARDS
BELONG TO THE SAME PEOPLE?

CABEZA de VACA HEALED THE SICK.

THEY KILLED THE HEALTHY.

HE WANTED NOTHING.

THEY TOOK EVERYTHING.

SURE THAT THE SPANISH WOULD
ENSLAVE HIS INDIAN ESCORTS,

CABEZA de VACA URGED THEM
TO FLEE.

THEN HE SET OUT AGAIN
FOR MEXICO CITY.

AS SOON AS HE WAS GONE,

THE SPANISH SEIZED MANY
OF HIS INDIAN FRIENDS.

White: CABEZA de VACA'S JOURNEY
THROUGH THIS EXTRAORDINARY WORLD

ENDS UP
IN A VERY ORDINARY WORLD,

A WORLD OF SPANISH SLAVERS
AND INDIAN VICTIMS.

BUT IN BETWEEN, IN THAT MOMENT,
THERE WAS A VISION

OF HOW SOMETHING ELSE
MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED...

THAT NEVER WOULD
REALLY FULLY HAPPEN,

BUT WOULD APPEAR IN GLIMPSES
AGAIN AND AGAIN,

AS INDIANS AND WHITES
INTERACTED IN THE CONTINENT.

Momaday: ALWAYS, WHEN PEOPLE

CAME INTO THIS LANDSCAPE
WE CALL THE WEST,

THEY BROUGHT WITH THEM
A NECESSITY TO IMAGINE IT.

ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THIS,
I THINK, IS SIMPLY THE VASTNESS.

WHEN ONE LOOKS AT THE GRAND
CANYON, FOR EXAMPLE,

IT'S ENDLESSLY MYSTERIOUS.

YOU KNOW, YOU FEEL THE SILENCE
COMING UP AND ENVELOPING YOU,

AND YOU KNOW
THAT THERE ARE PLACES THERE

WHERE NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN.

HOLY CATHOLIC
CAESARIAN MAJESTY...

I HAVE DONE ALL
THAT I POSSIBLY COULD

TO SERVE YOUR MAJESTY
AND TO DISCOVER A COUNTRY

WHERE GOD, OUR LORD,
MIGHT BE SERVED

AND THE ROYAL TREASURY
INCREASED.

AS YOUR LOYAL SERVANT
AND VASSAL...

FRANCISCO VASQUEZ de CORONADO.

Narrator: SIX YEARS
AFTER CABEZA de VACA

RETURNED TO MEXICO CITY,

THE SPANISH VICEROY SENT YET
ANOTHER EXPEDITION NORTHWARD.

THEY WERE SEARCHING
FOR SEVEN CITIES

SAID TO BE FILLED
WITH GOLD AND TREASURE.

IN COMMAND OF THE EXPEDITION

WAS THE AMBITIOUS GOVERNOR
OF A MEXICAN PROVINCE...

FRANCISCO VASQUEZ de CORONADO.

FOR MORE THAN FOUR MONTHS,
CORONADO FOLLOWED

OLD INDIAN TRAILS ACROSS DESERTS
AND THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS.

FINALLY, EXHAUSTED AND HUNGRY,
HE REACHED AN ADOBE SETTLEMENT

THAT HE HOPED WAS THE FIRST OF
THE FABLED SEVEN CITIES OF GOLD.

IT WAS REALLY THE PUEBLO
OF HAWIKUH,

HOME TO AN AGRICULTURAL PEOPLE
CALLED THE ZUNI.

THE PEOPLE OF THE PUEBLO
SAW THEM COMING,

THE SUN SLANTING
OFF THEIR HELMETS,

RIDING ON MONSTROUS ANIMALS NONE
OF THEM HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE.

Man: WHAT WAS GOING ON AT ZUNI
WAS A SUMMER SOLSTICE RITUAL,

AND THESE KINDS OF RITUALS
ARE ALWAYS REGARDED AS PRIVATE.

AND SO WHEN CORONADO CAME IN

WHILE THESE RITUALS
WERE IN PROGRESS,

ZUNI PRIESTS, ZUNI ELDERS
SKETCHED A CORNMEAL LINE

BETWEEN CORONADO'S MEN
AND THE PEOPLE AT ZUNI,

A LINE WHICH CORONADO
WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO CROSS.

CORONADO'S MEN,

WHO WERE LITERALLY STARVING
TO DEATH BY THAT TIME,

JUST BULLED RIGHT IN.

Narrator: THE ZUNIS FOUGHT BACK.

Coronado: THEY GREW SO BOLD

THAT THEY CAME UP ALMOST
TO THE HEELS OF OUR HORSES

TO SHOOT THEIR ARROWS.

ON THIS ACCOUNT,

I SAW THAT IT WAS NO LONGER
TIME TO HESITATE,

AND AS THE PRIESTS APPROVED
THE ACTION, I CHARGED THEM.

Narrator: THE INDIANS FLED
FROM THE SPANISH GUNS,

WHOSE THUNDEROUS SOUND
THEY HAD NEVER HEARD BEFORE.

CORONADO QUICKLY OVERRAN
THE TOWN, SET UP A WOODEN CROSS,

AND DEMANDED THAT THE ZUNI

IMMEDIATELY CONVERT
TO CHRISTIANITY.

BUT HE DISCOVERED
THAT THE ZUNIS HAD NO GOLD.

OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS,

CORONADO WOULD DESTROY
13 VILLAGES.

HE PUNISHED ALL WHO RESISTED HIM
PRECISELY AS REBELLIOUS SUBJECTS

WOULD HAVE BEEN PUNISHED
IN SPAIN,

BURNING 100 MEN AT THE STAKE,

AND KILLING STILL MORE
AS THEY TRIED TO FLEE.

Dorris: THERE WAS THE DECREE
THAT WOULD BE READ

WHEN THE SPANISH CAME INTO A NEW
NATIVE COMMUNITY THAT SAID,

IN LATIN,
"EVERYBODY HERE MUST FALL DOWN

"AND WORSHIP JESUS CHRIST,
AND IF YOU DON'T,

"WE WILL TAKE IT THAT YOU
ARE WORSHIPERS OF THE DEVIL,

"AND YOU WILL BE WIPED OUT.

YOU BASICALLY
HAVE FIVE MINUTES."

Narrator:
THAT SPRING, STILL CONVINCED

THAT GREAT RICHES COULD BE FOUND
OVER THE NEXT HORIZON,

CORONADO SENT EXPEDITIONS INTO
THE SURROUNDING COUNTRYSIDE.

ONE GROUP MARCHED
TO THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA.

ANOTHER CROSSED
THE PAINTED DESERT

INTO THE LAND OF THE HOPIS.

AND A THIRD MARCHED FOR 20 DAYS
TO THE EDGE OF A GREAT GORGE...

THE GRAND CANYON
OF THE COLORADO.

NOTHING IN THEIR EXPERIENCE

HAD PREPARED THEM
FOR ITS SHEER SIZE.

Man: CAPTAIN MELGOSA, WITH JUAN
GALERAS AND ANOTHER COMPANION,

KEPT DESCENDING IN SIGHT
OF THE MEN LEFT ABOVE

UNTIL THEY WERE LOST TO VIEW.

THE MEN WHO REMAINED ABOVE

ESTIMATED THAT SOME ROCKS
JUTTING OUT FROM THE CANYON

MUST BE ABOUT AS HIGH AS A MAN.

AT FOUR O'CLOCK,

THEY RETURNED AND SWORE
THAT WHEN THEY REACHED THEM,

THEY WERE FOUND TO BE TALLER

THAN THE HIGHEST TOWER
OF SEVILLE.

Narrator: BUT ONCE AGAIN,
THEY FOUND NO GOLD.

CORONADO THEN HEARD OF YET
ANOTHER CITY CALLED QUIVIRA,

FAR TO THE NORTH,

FILLED WITH TREASURES
BEYOND HIS WILDEST DREAMS.

HE LED HIS MEN TOWARD IT...
OUT ONTO THE GREAT PLAINS...

THROUGH AN OCEAN OF GRASS
SO VAST AND FEATURELESS

THEY HAD TO NAVIGATE
WITH A SEA COMPASS.

Man: WHO COULD BELIEVE
THAT 1,000 HORSES

AND 500 OF OUR COWS AND MORE
THAN 5,000 RAMS AND EWES

AND MORE THAN 1,500 MEN,
IN TRAVELING OVER THOSE PLAINS,

WOULD LEAVE NO MORE TRACE
WHEN THEY HAD PASSED

THAN IF NOTHING
HAD BEEN THERE... NOTHING.

Narrator: IN THE END,
QUIVIRA TURNED OUT TO BE

JUST A WICHITA VILLAGE ON
THE BANK OF THE ARKANSAS RIVER,

A CLUSTER OF HUTS
SURROUNDED BY BEAN FIELDS,

ITS INHABITANTS NO WEALTHIER

THAN THE OTHER INDIANS
CORONADO HAD ENCOUNTERED.

De Coronado: THE COUNTRY ITSELF

IS THE BEST I HAVE EVER SEEN

FOR PRODUCING ALL THE PRODUCTS
OF SPAIN.

BUT WHAT I AM SURE OF
IS THAT THERE IS NOT ANY GOLD

NOR ANY OTHER METAL
IN ALL THAT COUNTRY...

FRANCISCO VASQUEZ de CORONADO.

Narrator: FINALLY, CORONADO
ORDERED HIS EXHAUSTED MEN

TO BEGIN THE LONG MARCH BACK
TO MEXICO.

HIS SEARCH FOR THE SEVEN CITIES
OF GOLD HAD LASTED THREE YEARS,

LED HIM
ACROSS A QUARTER OF THE WEST,

AND EARNED HIM NOTHING.

Man: NEESH-NE-PARK-KE-OOK...
THE CUT NOSE.

MANDEH-KAHCHU... EAGLE'S BEAK.

Woman: UMENTUCKEN...
MOUNTAIN LAMB.

WAHEENEE-WEA...
BUFFALO BIRD WOMAN.

WATKUWEIS...
RETURNED FROM A FARAWAY COUNTRY.

Momaday: NAMES IN THE INDIAN
WORLD ARE VERY IMPORTANT,

AS IMPORTANT OR MORE IMPORTANT,
I THINK,

THAN IN ANY OTHER SOCIETY
THAT I KNOW.

NAMING IS...
IT COEXISTS WITH MEANING.

IT IS INDIVISIBLE WITH BEING.

IF SOMETHING HAS A NAME,
IT IS SAID TO BE.

IF IT DOES NOT HAVE A NAME,
ITS BEING IS SUSPECT.

I WAS TAKEN,
WHEN I WAS AN INFANT,

TO DEVIL'S TOWER BY MY PARENTS.

AND WHEN I WAS BROUGHT BACK
TO OKLAHOMA,

WHERE MY GRANDMOTHER LIVED,

AN OLD MAN CAME TO VISIT...

AN OLD MAN WHOSE NAME WAS
PUL HUH, WHICH MEANS "OLD WOLF."

AND HE PICKED ME UP
IN HIS HANDS,

AND HE BEGAN TO TELL STORIES.

AND THIS WAS
THE NAME-GIVING PROCESS.

AND AT THE END,
WHEN HE STOPPED TALKING,

HE LOOKED DOWN AT ME
AND HE SAID,

"AND NOW, YOU ARE ZUI TALI."

THAT'S MY INDIAN NAME,
AND IT MEANS "ROCKTREE BOY."

"ZUI" IS WHAT THE KIOWAS
CALL DEVIL'S TOWER.

AND I WAS GIVEN THAT NAME
TO COMMEMORATE

MY HAVING BEEN TAKEN
TO THIS VERY SACRED PLACE.

Narrator:
THERE WAS "CONQUERING BEAR"

AND "ONE WHO YAWNS"...

"CHILD OF THE WOLF"
AND "SON OF STAR"...

"ROCK FOREHEAD"
AND "MAN ON A CLOUD"...

"OWL WOMAN," "SOFT WHITE CORN,"

AND
"THE BLIND MAN'S DAUGHTER"...

"YELLOW SMOKE," "THE WHIRLWIND,"

AND
"HIN-MAH-TOO-YAH-LAT-KEKHT"...

"THUNDER ROLLING
FROM THE MOUNTAINS."

SOON, OTHER MEN,
WITH OTHER KINDS OF NAMES,

WOULD BEGIN TO CONVERGE
ON THE INDIAN WORLD...

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE OF ENGLAND...

ROBERT CAVELIER SIEUR
de LA SALLE FROM FRANCE...

VITUS BERING,
SAILING FOR RUSSIA.

AND THEY
WERE ONLY THE BEGINNING.

Man: THE WEST
IS AN INTERRUPTED DREAM.

DIFFERENT GROUPS OF PEOPLE
THAT HAVE COME TO THE WEST

HAVE INTERRUPTED THE NATURAL
EVOLUTION OF THE GROUPS

THAT THEY FOUND THERE.

AND SO WE HAVE A CONSTANT
MEETING IN THE WEST,

A CONSTANT MIGRATION
AND MEETING OF GROUPS.

AND THE REAL STORY, I THINK,

LIES IN HOW THOSE GROUPS
AFFECT EACH OTHER.

Narrator:
BY 1680, AS ENGLISH COLONISTS

WERE CRUSHING INDIAN RESISTANCE
IN NEW ENGLAND,

THE SPANISH WERE FIRMLY IN
CONTROL OF MOST OF THE PUEBLOS

OF THE SOUTHWEST.

EACH PUEBLO
HAD BUILT ITS OWN CHURCH,

AND PRIESTS HAD BAPTIZED
THOUSANDS OF INDIANS.

THE SPANISH HAD ESTABLISHED

A COLONY
THEY NOW CALLED "NEW MEXICO,"

CENTERED AROUND ITS GROWING
CAPITAL, SANTA FE.

Oritz: THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
ON THEIR SIDE

SAW WHAT THE SPANIARDS OFFERED

AS JUST ANOTHER POWER
TO ADD TO THEIR OWN.

THEY CONCEDED READILY
THAT THE SPANIARDS

MUST BE VERY POWERFUL PEOPLE
BECAUSE THEY HAD GUNS,

THEY HAD HORSES.

SO THEY WERE HAPPY ENOUGH
TO ADD THE SPANISH SAINTS,

BUT WITHOUT REPLACING THEIR OWN,
WITHOUT GIVING UP THE VISIONS

AND DREAMS
OF THEIR OWN FOREBEARS.

THIS IS WHAT THE FRIARS
WOULD HAVE NOTHING OF.

FOR THE FRIARS, IT WAS THEIR WAY
OR NO WAY AT ALL.

Narrator: EUROPEAN DISEASES HAD
TORN THROUGH THE PUEBLO PEOPLES,

KILLING A THIRD OF THEM.

SUMMER AFTER SUMMER,
IT HAD REFUSED TO RAIN.

WITH THE DROUGHT CAME FAMINE

AND RAIDS BY THEIR ENEMIES...
THE APACHE AND THE NAVAJO.

ALL THESE MISFORTUNES
COMING AT ONCE

CONVINCED A PRIEST OF
THE TEWA PUEBLO, CALLED Popé,

THAT THE ANCIENT SPIRITS
WERE DISPLEASED.

HE BEGAN PREACHING THAT THE
FOREIGNERS MUST BE DRIVEN OUT.

THE SPANISH REDOUBLED
THEIR EFFORTS TO BLOT OUT

THE PUEBLOS' TRADITIONAL FAITH.

RITUAL DANCES WERE FORBIDDEN,
RELIGIOUS OBJECTS BURNED.

TWICE, THE SPANISH HAD Popé
FLOGGED PUBLICLY,

BUT THEY COULD NOT SILENCE HIM.

FINALLY, 47 RELIGIOUS LEADERS

WERE IMPRISONED IN THE PALACE
OF THE GOVERNORS IN SANTA FE

FOR SPEAKING OUT
AGAINST THE SPANISH.

THREE WERE HANGED.

Oritz: IT WAS PROBABLY
THE FINAL INSULT.

THEY UNDERSTOOD ONCE AND FOR ALL
THEN THAT THE SPANIARDS

THAN TOTAL VICTORY.

Narrator: Popé BEGAN TRAVELING
FROM VILLAGE TO VILLAGE,

SPREADING HIS MESSAGE
THAT ALL THE PUEBLO INDIANS

MUST FORGET
THEIR LONG-STANDING DIFFERENCES,

BAND TOGETHER,
AND RID THEMSELVES OF SPAIN.

THREE PUEBLO LEADERS,
LOYAL TO SPAIN,

BEGGED THE SPANISH GOVERNOR
FOR HELP.

Man: THE INDIANS OF THIS KINGDOM

ARE ALLIED
FOR THE PURPOSE OF REBELLING.

THEY PLAN TO KILL THE PRIESTS
AND ALL THE SPANIARDS...

EVEN WOMEN AND CHILDREN...

THUS TO DESTROY THE TOTAL
POPULATION OF THIS KINGDOM.

Narrator: ON A PREARRANGED DAY,
PUEBLOS ALL ACROSS NEW MEXICO

ROSE AND OVERTHREW
THE SPANISH...

AT TAOS, SANTA CLARA,
AND PICURIS,

KERES, HOPI, AND SANTA CRUZ.

THEY KILLED THE FRIARS,
LEVELED THEIR CHURCHES.

TWENTY-ONE PRIESTS WERE KILLED.

SO WERE AT LEAST 400 SETTLERS.

SURVIVORS FOUND SANCTUARY
IN SANTA FE,

HUDDLED INSIDE THE PALACE
OF THE GOVERNORS.

2,500 INDIANS SURROUNDED THEM,
CUT OFF THEIR WATER,

BURNED THE REST OF THE CAPITAL,

AND SANG THE CATHOLIC LITURGY
IN LATIN... TO MOCK THEM.

AFTER 11 DAYS OF SIEGE,
THE SURVIVING SPANISH

FOUGHT THEIR WAY OUT
AND FLED TO MEXICO.

THE INDIANS DID NOT PURSUE THEM.

Oritz: THAT WAS THE WHOLE OBJECT
OF THE REVOLT...

TO GET THE HATED SPANIARDS
TO LEAVE.

AND WHEN THEY ACHIEVED
THAT OBJECTIVE,

THEY SAT BACK AND WERE CONTENT.

Narrator: FOR THE MOMENT,

IT WAS ENOUGH THAT THE LAND
WAS THEIRS AGAIN,

THAT THEY COULD ONCE AGAIN
PRACTICE THEIR FAITH

WITHOUT FEAR OF PUNISHMENT.

Popé HAD LED THE MOST SUCCESSFUL
INDIAN REVOLT

IN ALL
OF NORTH AMERICAN HISTORY.

BUT INDIAN INDEPENDENCE
DID NOT LAST LONG.

THE SPANISH EVENTUALLY RETURNED
AND OVERWHELMED THE PUEBLOS.

BUT THEY GREW MORE TOLERANT
OF INDIAN RELIGION.

INDIANS AND SPANIARDS
BEGAN TO INTERMARRY.

Anaya: THINK OF TWO WORLDVIEWS
COMING TOGETHER

WITH COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
CONCEPTIONS

OF THE UNIVERSE AND OF NATURE.

AND A LOT OF TIMES WHEN WE SPEAK
OF THE MEETING OF CULTURES,

WE FORGET
THAT BEYOND THE INITIAL CLASH

EMERGES A NEW VIEW OF THE WORLD.

AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT
WE CHICANOS REPRESENT TODAY.

IT HAS A SHAGGY NECK AND A TAIL
ALMOST TOUCHING THE GROUND.

ITS HOOFS ARE ROUND.

THIS ANIMAL WILL CARRY YOU
ON HIS BACK

AND HELP YOU IN MANY WAYS.

THOSE FAR HILLS THAT SEEM ONLY
A BLUE VISION IN THE DISTANCE

TAKE MANY DAYS TO REACH NOW.

BUT WITH THIS ANIMAL, YOU
CAN GET THERE IN A SHORT TIME,

SO FEAR HIM NOT.

REMEMBER WHAT I HAVE SAID...
SWEET MEDICINE.

Narrator:
ACCORDING TO CHEYENNE TRADITION,

THERE WAS ONCE A PROPHET
NAMED SWEET MEDICINE

WHO TAUGHT HIS PEOPLE
HOW TO CONDUCT THEMSELVES.

HE SET UP A COUNCIL OF 44 CHIEFS
TO SPEAK FOR ALL THE CHEYENNE

AND PRESENTED THEM
WITH FOUR SACRED ARROWS...

TWO TO SUBDUE
THEIR HUMAN ENEMIES,

TWO TO MAKE THE BUFFALO
FALL BEFORE THEM.

AND HE BROUGHT THEM A WARNING...

STRANGERS CALLED "EARTH MEN"
WOULD ONE DAY APPEAR AMONG THEM,

LIGHT-SKINNED,
SPEAKING AN UNKNOWN TONGUE.

AND WITH THEM
WOULD COME A STRANGE ANIMAL.

IT WOULD CHANGE
THE CHEYENNE WAY OF LIFE...

AND THAT OF EVERY OTHER
INDIAN PEOPLE... FOREVER.

IT WAS THE HORSE.

APACHE AND NAVAJO RAIDERS
GOT THEM FIRST,

BUT WHEN THE SPANISH
WERE DRIVEN OUT OF NEW MEXICO,

THE THOUSANDS OF HORSES
THEY LEFT BEHIND

SPREAD ACROSS THE WEST.

BY THE 1690s,
THE HORSE WAS BEING USED

BY TRIBES
OF THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.

BY 1700, IT HAD TRANSFORMED THE
LIVES OF THE KIOWA AND COMANCHE,

ALONG THE EASTERN FOOTHILLS
OF THE ROCKIES.

AT THE SAME TIME,

THE HORSE REACHED THE SHOSHONE
AND BANNOCK

IN WHAT IS NOW IDAHO.

THE NEZ PERCE
STOLE SOME FROM THEM,

AND SOON HAD HERDS THAT NUMBERED
IN THE THOUSANDS

IN THE LUSH WALLOWA VALLEY
OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.

Momaday: IT MUST HAVE BEEN

THE REALIZATION OF AN ANCIENT
DREAM TO BE ELEVATED,

TO BE SEVERED FROM THE EARTH,
CUT FREE.

WHAT A SENSE OF LIFE
THAT MUST HAVE BEEN,

DIFFERENT TO ANYTHING
THEY HAD EVER KNOWN.

AND WITH THE HORSE,

THEIR ANCIENT NOMADISM WAS
REALIZED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT,

AND THEY HAD CONQUERED
THEIR OLDEST ENEMY,

WHICH WAS DISTANCE.

Narrator: THE GREAT PLAINS NOW
BECAME A CROWDED MEETING GROUND

FOR SOME 30 TRIBES
FROM EVERY DIRECTION.

THE HORSE BECAME

THE MOST PRECIOUS SYMBOL
OF WEALTH AND PRESTIGE...

A VALUABLE PRIZE TO STEAL
FROM YOUR ENEMIES

AND A FASTER WAY TO REACH THEM.

A MAN'S BRAVERY WAS MEASURED
BY THE SIZE OF HIS HORSE HERD

AND BY THE NUMBER OF TIMES

HE HAD TOUCHED AN ENEMY
IN BATTLE...

CALLED "COUNTING COUP."

WITHIN EACH TRIBE,
WARRIOR SOCIETIES FLOURISHED...

THE BLACKMOUTHS, THE BOWSTRINGS,
THE DOG SOLDIERS.

Momaday: BEFORE THE HORSE,
LIFE MUST HAVE BEEN HARD.

A PERSON WOULD HAVE TO GIVE

VIRTUALLY EVERY HOUR
OF HIS WAKING TIME

TO SOLVING THE SIMPLE PROBLEM
OF SURVIVAL...

"WELL, HOW AM I GOING
TO GET ENOUGH FOOD FOR MYSELF

AND MY FAMILY TODAY?"

BUT WITH THE HORSE,

A HUNTER COULD ACQUIRE ENOUGH
FOOD IN ONE DAY

TO LAST HIM MONTHS.

AND SO HE WAS SUDDENLY GIVEN
A MARGIN OF FREEDOM

THAT HE COULD
NEVER HAVE IMAGINED.

AND SO WHAT HE DID WITH IT,
OF COURSE,

WAS TO CELEBRATE IT IN TERMS
OF THE WARRIOR IDEAL...

"I HAVE LEISURE.

"I CAN GO AND HUNT, AND I CAN
VISIT MY ENEMIES AND COUNT COUP.

I CAN BE BRAVE,
AND I CAN ATTAIN GLORY."

Man: I LONGED TO JOIN THE WAR
PARTIES I WATCHED GOING OUT.

IN THE EVENINGS,
I WANDERED THROUGH THE VILLAGE

UNTIL I FOUND A TEPEE

WHERE SOME OLD MAN WAS TELLING
STORIES OF FAMOUS RAIDS.

I WOULD SIT OUTSIDE, MY EAR
PRESSED TO THE SKIN WALL.

I HATED THIS QUIET LIFE.

AFTER HUNTING BUFFALO
UNTIL I GREW BORED,

I WOULD OFTEN SIT ALONE
ON SOME HIGH RIDGE

AND THINK ABOUT THE HONORS
A MAN COULD WIN...

TWO LEGGINGS.

Momaday: THE DOG SOLDIERS WERE
THE ELITE MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS

IN THE TRIBE.

THEY WERE THE LAST LINE
OF DEFENSE FOR THE PEOPLE.

AND SO THEY WERE
GREATLY ESTEEMED.

THE WARRIORS IN THE SOCIETY
WERE OUTFITTED WITH A SASH,

A PARTICULAR SASH
WHICH TRAILED THE GROUND.

AND EACH MEMBER
CARRIED A SACRED ARROW.

AND IN TIME OF BATTLE,

THE DOG SOLDIER WOULD IMPALE
THE SASH TO THE GROUND

AND STAND THE GROUND
TO THE DEATH.

THEY HAD A SONG WHICH ONLY
THE MEMBERS COULD SING,

AND ONLY IN THE FACE OF DEATH.

SO YOU CAN IMAGINE
THAT CHILDREN,

WHEN THEY SAW A DOG SOLDIER
GO BY, MUST HAVE JUST,

"AH, WOW! LOOK AT THAT GUY.
HE'S A DOG SOLDIER."

Man: A MAN COULD NOT EVEN
COURT A GIRL

UNLESS HE HAD PROVED
HIS COURAGE.

THAT WAS ONE REASON

SO MANY WERE ANXIOUS
TO WIN GOOD WAR RECORDS...

THEY WERE ALL AFRAID
OF WHAT PEOPLE,

AND ESPECIALLY THE WOMEN, WOULD
SAY IF THEY WERE COWARDLY.

THE WOMEN EVEN HAD A SONG
THEY WOULD SING

ABOUT A MAN WHOSE COURAGE
HAD FAILED HIM...

"IF YOU ARE AFRAID
WHEN YOU CHARGE, TURN BACK.

THE DESERT WOMEN WILL EAT YOU."

IT WAS HARD TO GO INTO A FIGHT,
AND THEY WERE OFTEN AFRAID,

BUT IT WAS WORSE TO TURN BACK
AND FACE THE WOMEN...

JOHN STANDS IN TIMBER.

Archambault: AS A LAKOTA WOMAN
FOUR GENERATIONS AGO,

I WOULD HAVE CUT OFF THE ARMS
AND THE LEGS AND HEADS

OF THE ENEMIES
THAT MY HUSBAND KILLED,

AND I WOULD HAVE PUT THEM
ON A STICK,

AND I WOULD HAVE PARADED THEM
IN THE SCALP DANCE THAT EVENING

WHEN WE HONORED OUR MEN.

Woman: WOMEN USED TO GET OUT
AND SHOW, YOU KNOW,

THAT THEY WERE EMOTIONAL...

WORRIED ABOUT THEIR WARRIORS
GOING OFF.

AND WHILE THEY WERE GONE,
THEY ALWAYS WATCHED.

WHEN THE HORSES GET TOGETHER,
THEY MAKE A LOT OF DUST,

AND WHEN THEY WOULD SEE THIS,

WELL, THEY KNEW THAT THEY
WERE COMING BACK FROM A HUNT

OR A FIGHT, YOU KNOW.

AND THEY RECOGNIZE
THEIR FAMILY MEMBER,

AND THAT'S A WAY
THEY LULUED FOR THEM.

THAT'S THE WAY THEY DID IT.

AND THEN THEY DANCED,

ALL JOLLY AND HAPPY
AFTER THEY FED THEIR WARRIORS,

AND EVERYBODY SPRUCED UP
AND GOT OUT,

AND THEY HAD
A BIG VICTORY DANCE.

THAT'S WHEN WOMEN ALL GET
IN A LINE AND DANCE AROUND.

Narrator:
ON THE SOUTHERN PLAINS,

THE COMANCHES BEGAN DRIVING
THEIR ENEMIES, THE APACHES,

OUT OF THE GRASSLANDS AND
INTO THE DESERTS AND MOUNTAINS

OF NEW MEXICO.

IN THE NORTH, THE LAKOTA...

OR THE SIOUX,
AS THEIR ENEMIES CALLED THEM...

PRESSED EVEN FARTHER WESTWARD,

PUSHING THE CHEYENNE AHEAD OF
THEM AND DISPLACING OTHER TRIBES

AS THEY EXPANDED
ACROSS THE MISSOURI.

Woman: OF COURSE, THE LAKOTA,
CHEYENNE, ARAPAHOS,

AND OTHER TRIBES
NEVER LET US REST,

SO THERE WAS ALWAYS WAR.

WHEN OUR ENEMIES
WERE NOT BOTHERING US,

OUR WARRIORS
WERE BOTHERING THEM,

SO THERE WAS ALWAYS FIGHTING
GOING ON SOMEWHERE.

WE WOMEN SOMETIMES TRIED TO
KEEP OUR MEN FROM GOING TO WAR,

BUT THIS WAS LIKE TALKING
TO WINTER WINDS...

PRETTY SHIELD.

John Stands in Timber:
THE WARRIORS CAME OUT

ON A HIGH CLIFF TO THE EAST

AND SAW AN ENEMY VILLAGE
DOWN THERE, A CROW VILLAGE,

BUT NOBODY SEEMED AROUND.

JUST AS THEY GOT THERE,
THEY SMELLED THIS AWFUL SMELL.

AND WHEN THEY WENT
INTO THE VILLAGE

AND EXAMINED THE FIRST TEPEES,

THEY FOUND THEM
FULL OF DEAD PEOPLE,

LAYING THERE WRAPPED UP.

SO THEY GOT OUT OF THERE
AND STARTED BACK.

BUT BEFORE THEY REACHED
THEIR OWN VILLAGE,

ONE OF THEM GOT SICK
AND DIED TOO.

AND WHEN THEY GOT IN,

THE REST OF THEM
CAME DOWN WITH SMALLPOX ALSO.

IT KILLED MANY OF THEM...

JOHN STANDS IN TIMBER.

Narrator: SMALLPOX, CHOLERA,

TUBERCULOSIS, MEASLES,
DIPHTHERIA...

EUROPEAN DISEASES AGAINST WHICH
THEY HAD NO IMMUNITY...

NOW RACED FROM PEOPLE TO PEOPLE.

Dorris: WHAT MUST IT HAVE BEEN
LIKE TO LIVE IN A COMMUNITY

AND SUDDENLY A DISEASE
THAT YOU HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE,

FOR WHICH YOUR MEDICINES
WERE NOT EFFECTIVE,

AND WHICH HAD HORRIBLY
UGLY SYMPTOMS,

WIPED OUT EVERYBODY YOU SAW?

WAS IT WITCHCRAFT?
WAS IT A PUNISHMENT?

WAS IT THE END OF THE WORLD?
WHO KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON?

THEN THOSE PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T
DIE, THEY WERE LEFT STRAGGLERS.

IF THEY WERE CHILDREN,

THEY WERE VERY DEPENDENT
ON ANYBODY WHO ELSE SURVIVED.

IT WAS A TOTAL HOLOCAUST.

AND IT WASN'T THE CAVALRY.

IT WAS A SERIES OF PANDEMICS
THAT WIPED OUT MOST PEOPLE

BEFORE EUROPEANS
EVER ENCOUNTERED THEM.

Man: KNOW THAT, ON THE RIGHT
HAND OF THE INDIES,

THERE IS AN ISLAND... VERY NEAR
TO THE TERRESTRIAL PARADISE,

WHICH WAS PEOPLED
WITH BLACK WOMEN,

WITHOUT ANY MEN AMONG THEM,

BECAUSE THEY WERE ACCUSTOMED
TO LIVE

AFTER THE FASHION OF AMAZONS.

AND THERE REIGNED
IN THIS ISLAND, A QUEEN,

VERY LARGE IN PERSON, THE MOST
BEAUTIFUL OF ALL OF THEM.

HER NAME... "CALAFIA"...

GARCIA ORDOÑEZ de MONTALVO.

Narrator: IN 1533,

A SPANISH EXPEDITION
SENT NORTH FROM MEXICO

HAD DISCOVERED WHAT ITS MEMBERS
ASSUMED WAS A LARGE ISLAND.

THEY NAMED IT CALIFORNIA,
AFTER A MYTHICAL LAND OF AMAZONS

THEY HAD READ ABOUT
IN A POPULAR NOVEL.

BUT THE COST OF COLONIZING
THE SOUTHWEST HAD PROVED SO HIGH

THAT SPAIN MADE NO EFFORT
TO SETTLE THE NEW TERRITORY.

FOR THE NEXT
TWO AND A HALF CENTURIES,

CALIFORNIA REMAINED ESSENTIALLY
UNTOUCHED BY EUROPEANS,

HOME TO MORE
THAN 300,000 INDIANS,

LIVING IN HUNDREDS
OF SMALL BANDS.

THEN IN 1767,
IT ALL BEGAN TO CHANGE.

RUMORS REACHED THE SPANISH
THAT RUSSIAN TRADERS

WERE BUILDING OUTPOSTS
ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST.

TO PROTECT SPANISH INTERESTS,
MEXICO CITY DECIDED

TO ESTABLISH A CHAIN OF FORTS
AND MISSIONS IN CALIFORNIA

AND SENT A COLUMN
OF SOLDIERS NORTH.

WITH THEM WENT A MISSIONARY,
FATHER JUNIPERO SERRA.

SERRA WAS A FORMER TEACHER
OF PHILOSOPHY,

BADLY HANDICAPPED
BY AN ULCERATED LEG,

AND FURTHER WEAKENED BY HIS
HABIT OF SCOURGING HIS OWN FLESH

IN ATONEMENT
FOR THE SINS OF OTHERS.

BUT NOTHING COULD QUELL
HIS MISSIONARY ZEAL.

BY MAY OF 1769,
SERRA HAD ARRIVED IN CALIFORNIA

AND MET
HIS FIRST POTENTIAL CONVERTS.

Serra: I FOUND MYSELF
IN FRONT OF 12 OF THEM,

AND I SAW SOMETHING
I COULD NOT BELIEVE.

IT WAS THIS...
THEY WERE ENTIRELY NAKED

AS ADAM IN THE GARDEN,
BEFORE SIN.

WE SPOKE A LONG TIME WITH THEM,

AND NOT FOR ONE MOMENT,
WHILE THEY SAW US CLOTHED,

COULD YOU NOTICE THE LEAST SIGN
OF SHAME IN THEM...

FATHER JUNIPERO SERRA.

Narrator:
FATHER SERRA AND HIS FOLLOWERS

HELPED ESTABLISH 21 MISSIONS
IN ALL... SAN DIEGO,

SAN GABRIEL, SAN ANTONIO
de PADUA, SAN JOSE...

AND, ON A MAGNIFICENT BAY
IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA...

SAN FRANCISCO,
ESTABLISHED IN 1776,

THE YEAR 13 COLONIES
ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST

DECLARED THEIR INDEPENDENCE
FROM BRITAIN.

NEAR THE MISSION AT SAN GABRIEL
IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA,

A TOWN SPRANG UP IN 1781,

SETTLED BY PEOPLE

WHOM THE MISSIONARY FATHERS
CONSIDERED LAZY AND CORRUPT,

INTERESTED MAINLY IN DRINKING,
GAMBLING, AND PURSUING WOMEN.

IT WAS LOS ANGELES.

THE FRIARS BELIEVED THEMSELVES
ENGAGED IN HOLY WORK.

THEY THOUGHT IT THEIR DUTY
TO ROUND UP THE INDIANS,

TO TEACH THEM TO WEAVE, MAKE
BRICKS, TEND CROPS, HERD CATTLE,

AND TO GIVE UP THEIR OLD WAYS.

Man: THE FRIAR FELT THAT IF HE
DIDN'T SAVE THESE PEOPLE,

THEY WERE GOING TO GO TO HELL.

AND SO HIS MOTIVE WAS...
GET THESE PEOPLE BAPTIZED,

GET THEM TO BELIEVE
IN JESUS CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH,

AND GET THEM
TO BECOME CHRISTIANS

SO THAT THEY CAN GO TO HEAVEN.

OTHERWISE, THEY'RE IN THE GRASP
OF THE DEVIL.

AND THIS WAS A VERY SERIOUS
RESPONSIBILITY FOR A FRIAR.

Dorris: JUST IMAGINE
IF AN IROQUOIS HOLY MAN

OR A LAKOTA MEDICINE PERSON
SUDDENLY ARRIVED IN PARIS,

TOLD EVERYBODY THAT CATHOLICISM
WAS DEVIL WORSHIP,

AND THAT THEY MUST BURN

EVERY TRAPPING THAT THEY HAD
OF CATHOLICISM

AND COMPLETELY CHANGE
THEIR WORLDVIEW.

I DON'T THINK THE FRENCH
WOULD HAVE BEEN AS POLITE,

BUT, IN FACT, MOST MISSIONARIES
DID PRETTY WELL.

PEOPLE TREATED THEM
WITH RESPECT.

PEOPLE GAVE THEM
A PLACE TO LIVE.

OFTENTIMES,
PEOPLE WENT TO THEIR SERVICES.

SOMETIMES, THEY EVEN BELIEVED
WHAT THEY SAID.

Narrator: THE MISSION INDIANS...

CALLED NEOPHYTES
BY THE FRIARS...

WERE CROWDED INTO BARRACKS.

HANDPICKED INDIAN OVERSEERS
WITH WHIPS

DROVE THEM FROM TASK TO TASK,
EVEN TO AND FROM MASS.

THE NEOPHYTES TRIED AGAIN
AND AGAIN

TO ESCAPE INTO THE INTERIOR,

BUT SOLDIERS
WERE SENT TO HUNT THEM DOWN.

DURING THE MISSION PERIOD,
FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO SAN DIEGO,

THREE OUT OF FOUR
OF THE COASTAL INDIANS PERISHED.

"THEY LIVE WELL FREE,"
A PUZZLED FRIAR SAID,

"BUT AS SOON AS WE REDUCE THEM

"TO A CHRISTIAN
AND COMMUNITY LIFE,

THEY FATTEN, SICKEN, AND DIE."

Man: THE OBJECT OF YOUR MISSION

IS TO EXPLORE
THE MISSOURI RIVER,

AND SUCH PRINCIPAL STREAM
OF IT,

AS BY ITS COURSE
AND COMMUNICATIONS

WITH THE WATERS
OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN

MAY OFFER THE MOST DIRECT
AND PRACTICABLE

WATER COMMUNICATION
ACROSS THIS CONTINENT.

THOSE WHO COME AFTER US WILL
FILL UP THE CANVAS WE BEGIN...

PRESIDENT THOMAS JEFFERSON.

Narrator: FOR CENTURIES,

THE MANDANS
OF THE UPPER MISSOURI RIVER

HAD BEEN ONE OF THE MOST
PROSPEROUS TRIBES

ON THE GREAT PLAINS...

LIVING IN PERMANENT VILLAGES

AND GROWING CROPS
IN SUCH ABUNDANCE

THAT OTHER TRIBES CAME GREAT
DISTANCES TO TRADE WITH THEM.

EUROPEANS CAME TOO... FRENCHMEN,
ENGLISHMEN, SPANIARDS.

EACH TIME, THEY BROUGHT FLAGS

AND CLAIMED THAT THE MANDANS
AND THEIR LAND

HAD NOW BEEN ADDED
TO THEIR EMPIRES.

BUT THE MANDANS BELIEVED

THEY HAD MERELY ADDED
THE FRENCH, ENGLISH, AND SPANISH

TO THEIR LIST OF CUSTOMERS.

EACH COUNTRY WAS SEARCHING
FOR THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE,

A WATER ROUTE BELIEVED
TO CONNECT THE MISSOURI RIVER

WITH THE PACIFIC AND THE RICHES
OF THE ORIENT THAT LAY BEYOND.

WHICHEVER NATION FOUND IT FIRST,
AND THEN CONTROLLED IT,

WOULD CONTROL THE DESTINY
OF THE CONTINENT.

Man: FROM THE TIME OF COLUMBUS,
THE EUROPEANS WERE LOOKING

FOR THE FASTEST ROUTE THEY COULD
TO INDIA AND CHINA.

THERE WAS STILL THIS NOTION

THAT THERE MUST BE
AN EASY WAY ACROSS,

THAT IT COULDN'T BE
THIS BIG A LAND.

AND PARTICULARLY,
THERE MUST A WATER ROUTE ACROSS.

Narrator: ON OCTOBER 24, 1804,

THE MANDANS LOOKED DOWN
FROM THE BLUFFS OF THE MISSOURI

AND SAW THE LARGEST BOAT
THEY HAD EVER SEEN...

55 FEET LONG,
22 OARS AT ITS SIDES,

AND A CANNON MOUNTED IN THE BOW.

THEY HURRIED DOWN TO SEE IT.

STRANGERS STEPPED
ONTO THE SHORE,

AND THEIR TWO LEADERS
SPOKE TO THE MANDANS.

Man: CHILDREN, YOUR OLD FATHERS,
THE FRENCH AND THE SPANIARDS,

HAVE GONE BEYOND THE GREAT LAKE
TOWARD THE RISING SUN.

Narrator: THEY WERE EXPLORERS...
NOT TRADERS, THEY SAID...

ON THEIR WAY FROM ST. LOUIS

TO FIND THE GREAT OCEAN
TOWARD THE SETTING SUN.

Man: CHILDREN, THE GREAT CHIEF

OF THE 17 GREAT NATIONS
OF AMERICA

HAS BECOME YOUR ONLY FATHER.

HE HAS COMMANDED US
TO UNDERTAKE THIS LONG JOURNEY.

Narrator: THE WHITE MEN SAID

THAT THE MANDANS HAD A NEW
"GREAT FATHER," FAR TO THE EAST,

MORE POWERFUL
THAN THE OTHERS BEFORE HIM.

Man: CHILDREN,
FOLLOW THESE COUNSELS,

AND YOU WILL HAVE NOTHING
TO FEAR.

AND FUTURE AGES

WILL MAKE YOU OUTNUMBER
THE TREES IN THE FOREST.

DO THESE THINGS WHICH
YOUR GREAT FATHER ADVISES

AND BE HAPPY...
LEST BY ONE FALSE STEP

YOU SHOULD BRING DOWN
UPON YOUR NATION

THE DISPLEASURE
OF YOUR GREAT FATHER.

Narrator: THE "GREAT FATHER"
WAS THOMAS JEFFERSON,

PRESIDENT
OF THE NEW UNITED STATES,

WHO HAD JUST PURCHASED
FROM FRANCE

HALF A BILLION ACRES...

BETWEEN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
AND THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS...

DOUBLING THE SIZE
OF HIS YOUNG REPUBLIC

WITH A SINGLE STROKE OF HIS PEN.

JEFFERSON CALLED HIS EXPEDITION
THE "CORPS OF DISCOVERY."

TO LEAD IT,

THE PRESIDENT HAD TURNED
TO HIS PERSONAL SECRETARY,

MERIWETHER LEWIS, A YOUNG
ARMY OFFICER FROM VIRGINIA.

AS CO-COMMANDER,
LEWIS PICKED AN OLD ARMY FRIEND

AND FELLOW VIRGINIAN,
WILLIAM CLARK,

A GREGARIOUS,
SEASONED FRONTIERSMAN.

WITH THEM
WERE FRENCH-CANADIAN BOATMEN,

THREE DOZEN ARMY RECRUITS

FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE,
PENNSYLVANIA, AND KENTUCKY,

AND CLARK'S PERSONAL SERVANT,
A SLAVE NAMED YORK.

TO ACT AS TRANSLATORS,

LEWIS AND CLARK HIRED A FRENCH
TRAPPER, TOUSSAINT CHARBONNEAU,

AND HIS 16-YEAR-OLD WIFE,
SACAGAWEA...

A SHOSHONE WHO HAD BEEN CAPTURED
BY THE HIDATSA AS A SMALL GIRL.

Man: OUR WISH IS TO BE AT PEACE
WITH ALL.

IF WE EAT, YOU SHALL EAT.

IF WE STARVE,
YOU MUST STARVE TOO...

SHEHEKE.

Narrator: THE EXPLORERS

SPENT THEIR FIRST WINTER
AMONG THE MANDANS,

WHO SOLD THEM FOOD,
HELPED THEM HUNT BUFFALO,

AND GAVE THEM ADVICE

ON WHAT TO EXPECT
FARTHER UP THE MISSOURI.

IN THE SPRING, THE CORPS
OF DISCOVERY STARTED WEST AGAIN.

Man: WE WERE NOW ABOUT
TO PENETRATE A COUNTRY

AT LEAST 2,000 MILES IN WIDTH,

ON WHICH THE FOOT OF CIVILIZED
MAN HAD NEVER TRODDEN.

THE GOOD OR EVIL
IT HAD IN STORE FOR US

WAS FOR EXPERIMENT
YET TO DETERMINE...

MERIWETHER LEWIS.

Narrator: IN THE MONTHS TO COME,

THEY PASSED THROUGH SOME
OF THE MOST MAGNIFICENT COUNTRY

ON EARTH,

SPENT WEEKS PORTAGING
AROUND A HUGE WATERFALL,

AND NOTED ANIMALS NEVER BEFORE
DESCRIBED FOR SCIENCE...

GRIZZLY BEARS, PRONGHORN
ANTELOPE, BIGHORN SHEEP.

AND THEY WERE ASTONISHED
BY THE MASSIVE HERDS OF BUFFALO

THAT SEEMED TO BE EVERYWHERE.

BUT THEY WERE FALLING
BADLY BEHIND SCHEDULE...

THE DISTANCES WERE PROVING
TO BE FAR GREATER

THAN THE EXPLORERS, JEFFERSON,
OR ANYONE ELSE

HAD EVER IMAGINED.

IN EARLY AUGUST,
LEWIS LED A SMALL ADVANCE PARTY

ALONG AN INDIAN TRAIL THAT WOUND
WEST INTO THE MOUNTAINS.

COMING UPON AN ICE-COLD SPRING,
HE WROTE THAT IT WAS

"THE MOST DISTANT FOUNTAIN
OF THE MIGHTY MISSOURI...

"ONE OF THOSE GREAT OBJECTS
ON WHICH MY MIND

HAS BEEN UNALTERABLY FIXED
FOR MANY YEARS."

THEN, HE CLIMBED TOWARD
THE SHARP RIDGE BEHIND IT.

Duncan: OF COURSE,

THE MISSION OF
THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION

WAS TO FIND
THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE.

THAT WAS
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.

AND MERIWETHER LEWIS
WAS CLIMBING TO THIS RIDGE

THAT HE THOUGHT... WAS SURE...
WAS THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE.

AND AS HE WALKED UP THIS SADDLE
IN THE MOUNTAINS,

HE EXPECTED
THAT WHEN HE GOT THERE,

HE MIGHT EVEN SEE THE OCEAN,

BUT CERTAINLY HE WOULD SEE

THE WESTERN EQUIVALENT
OF THE GREAT PLAINS

AND A RIVER
THAT WOULD FLOW THERE.

AND AS HE GOT TO THE TOP,

HE LOOKED OUT
AND SAW MORE MOUNTAINS...

SNOW ON THEM, ETERNAL SNOWS.

AND THE MYTH OF THE NORTHWEST
PASSAGE DIED AT THAT MOMENT.

Narrator: LEWIS HAD, IN FACT,

CROSSED
THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE...

THE SPINE
OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS

BEYOND WHICH THE RIVERS
FLOW WEST,

AND BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES
OF THE UNITED STATES.

BUT HIS PARTY WAS STILL NEARLY
500 MILES FROM THE PACIFIC...

AND SUMMER
WAS FAST DISAPPEARING.

Lewis: IF WE DO NOT FIND
THE SHOSHONES

OR SOME OTHER NATION
WHO HAVE HORSES,

I FEAR THE SUCCESSFUL ISSUE
OF OUR VOYAGE

WILL BE VERY DOUBTFUL...

NOT KNOWING HOW FAR
THESE MOUNTAINS CONTINUE,

OR WHERE TO DIRECT OUR COURSE
TO PASS THEM...

MERIWETHER LEWIS.

Narrator: THE NEXT DAY, HE
CHANCED UPON A SHOSHONE VILLAGE.

THE SHOSHONE HAD NEVER SEEN
A WHITE MAN BEFORE

AND WERE SUSPICIOUS OF LEWIS.

THE FATE OF THE EXPEDITION
NOW LAY IN THEIR HANDS.

THEN OCCURRED ONE OF THE MOST
EXTRAORDINARY COINCIDENCES

IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

WHEN THE MAIN PARTY ARRIVED,

SACAGAWEA,
THE FRENCH TRAPPER'S WIFE,

SUDDENLY RECOGNIZED
THE CHIEF OF THE SHOSHONE...

HE WAS HER BROTHER.

Man:
THE GREAT CHIEF OF THIS NATION

PROVED TO BE THE BROTHER
OF THE WOMAN WITH US.

THE SQUAW DANCED
FOR THE JOYFUL SIGHT,

AND THOSE INDIANS SANG
ALL THE WAY TO THEIR CAMP...

WILLIAM CLARK.

Narrator: WITH SACAGAWEA
AS THEIR INTERPRETER,

THE CAPTAINS EXPLAINED THEIR
NEED FOR HORSES AND GUIDES,

AND THE SHOSHONES
AGREED TO PROVIDE THEM.

LEWIS AND CLARK
HAD NO TIME TO REST.

FROST ALREADY COVERED
THE GROUND EACH MORNING.

THE SHOSHONE TOLD THEM
OF A STEEP HUNTING TRAIL

ACROSS THE BITTERROOTS,
BUT IT WAS ROCKY,

HEAVILY TIMBERED,
AND WITH LITTLE GAME TO SHOOT.

DESPITE THE RISKS,
LEWIS DETERMINED TO TRY IT.

ON FOOT AND ON HORSEBACK,

THEY HEADED ACROSS
WHAT ONE OF THE MEN CALLED

"THE MOST TERRIBLE MOUNTAINS
I EVER BEHELD."

Clark: SEPTEMBER 16, 1805...

BEGAN TO SNOW ABOUT THREE HOURS
BEFORE DAY

AND CONTINUED ALL DAY.

THE SNOW IN THE MORNING,
4 INCHES DEEP ON THE OLD SNOW,

AND BY NIGHT, WE FOUND IT
FROM 6 TO 8 INCHES DEEP.

I HAVE BEEN AS WET AND AS COLD
IN EVERY PART

AS I EVER WAS IN MY LIFE.

TO DESCRIBE THE ROAD
OF THIS DAY

WOULD BE A REPETITION
OF YESTERDAY,

EXCEPT THE SNOW,
WHICH MADE IT MUCH WORSE.

Narrator: FOR 11 DAYS,
DESPERATE WITH HUNGER,

SOMETIMES ENTIRELY LOST,

THEY TRIED TO FOLLOW THE OLD
TRAIL ALONG THE MOUNTAIN RIDGES

THROUGH SWIRLING SNOW.

THEY SHOT AND ATE A COYOTE,
A RAVEN,

FRANTICALLY SPLASHED
AFTER CRAYFISH IN A STREAM,

CHEWED EVEN THEIR CANDLES,

AND FINALLY STUMBLED DOWN
OUT OF THE MOUNTAINS,

MORE DEAD THAN ALIVE.

THERE THEY WERE FOUND
BY THE NEZ PERCE.

Man: THE NEZ PERCES
COULD HAVE KILLED THEM EASILY.

THEY COULD HAVE WIPED THEM OUT.

BUT ONCE THEY KNEW THE INTENT
OF LEWIS AND CLARK...

THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE
NO HARM DONE TO THEM...

THEN, OF COURSE,
THEY BECAME VERY FRIENDLY

AND THEY WERE WILLING TO HELP.

Narrator: THE NEZ PERCE
GAVE THE STARVING STRANGERS

DRIED SALMON AND THE ROOTS
OF THE CAMAS PLANT TO EAT,

TOLD THEM IT WAS NOW POSSIBLE
TO REACH THE SEA BY WATER,

AND ALLOWED THE AMERICANS
TO FELL FIVE TREES

FROM WHICH TO MAKE CANOES
FOR THE JOURNEY.

LEWIS AND CLARK MOVED FAST NOW,

DOWN THE CLEARWATER,
THEN THE SNAKE,

THROUGH CURRENTS, ONE MEMBER
OF THE EXPEDITION REMEMBERED,

"SWIFTER THAN ANY HORSE
COULD RUN,"

AND, FINALLY,
ONTO THE BROAD COLUMBIA.

BY LATE OCTOBER,

THEY WERE SEEING SIGNS THAT
THEY WERE NEARING THE COAST.

SOME INDIANS WORE BLUE JACKETS
AND ROUND HATS,

BARTERED FROM BRITISH
AND AMERICAN SAILORS

WHO HAD BEEN TRADING ALONG
THE PACIFIC COAST FOR DECADES.

Lewis: THE INDIANS INFORM US

THAT THEY SPEAK THE SAME
LANGUAGE WITH OURSELVES

AND GIVE US PROOFS
OF THEIR VERACITY

BY REPEATING MANY WORDS
OF ENGLISH,

AS "MUSKET," "POWDER," "SHOT,"
"KNIFE," "DAMNED RASCAL,"

"SON OF A BITCH," ET CETERA.

Narrator: BY NOVEMBER, THE RIVER
STARTED TO WIDEN STILL FURTHER.

Duncan: YOU CAN IMAGINE
WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE

FOR LEWIS AND CLARK.

THEY HAD BEEN GONE
FOR A YEAR AND A HALF,

LONGER THAN THEY THOUGHT.

THEY WEREN'T EVEN IN UNITED
STATES TERRITORY ANY LONGER.

THEY'RE COMING
DOWN THE COLUMBIA,

AND, SUDDENLY,
THE WATER TURNS SALTY,

AND THEY START FEELING
SOME TIDAL MOTION,

AND IT WAS THE ONLY TIME THAT
WILLIAM CLARK EVER GOT EMOTIONAL

IN TWO AND A HALF YEARS
IN THE WILDERNESS.

Clark: NOVEMBER 7,
THURSDAY, 1805...

A CLOUDY, FOGGY MORNING,
SOME RAIN.

WE SET OUT EARLY...

THE FOG SO THICK WE COULD
NOT SEE ACROSS THE RIVER.

Narrator: THEN THE FOG LIFTED,
AND THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY

FINALLY SAW THE END
OF THEIR LONG TRAIL

AND A GLIMPSE
OF THEIR YOUNG COUNTRY'S FUTURE.

Clark:
WE ARE IN VIEW OF THE OCEAN...

THIS GREAT PACIFIC OCEAN...

WHICH WE HAVE BEEN
SO LONG ANXIOUS TO SEE.

OH, THE JOY!...

WILLIAM CLARK.

Narrator: FOR NEARLY 300 YEARS,
EUROPEANS FROM DIFFERENT NATIONS

HAD BEEN ENTERING THE WEST
FROM DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS,

PURSUING DIFFERENT MYTHS.

YET EACH INTRUDER HAD LAID CLAIM
TO THE REGION,

AS IF HE WERE THE FIRST
TO DISCOVER IT,

AS IF THE PEOPLE
ALREADY LIVING THERE

WHOSE WORLD THEY HAD CHANGED
FOREVER, DID NOT EXIST.

A CONQUISTADOR HAD ETCHED
HIS NAME FOR SPAIN

ON EL MORRO ROCK IN NEW MEXICO.

ON BEHALF OF FRANCE,
A NOBLEMAN HAD BURIED

A LEAD TABLET WITH HIS NAME
ON IT ON THE NORTHERN PLAINS.

A SCOTTISH EXPLORER HAD PAINTED
HIS NAME ON A ROCK

TO CLAIM THE NORTHWEST COAST
FOR GREAT BRITAIN.

NOW, IT WAS THE AMERICANS' TURN.

AT A POINT OVERLOOKING
THE PACIFIC OCEAN IN OREGON,

CLARK TOOK HIS KNIFE
AND CARVED A MESSAGE

IN THE BARK OF A TREE...

"WILLIAM CLARK,
DECEMBER 3, 1805.

BY LAND,
FROM THE UNITED STATES."

HIS NATION
WAS NOT YET 30 YEARS OLD,

BUT THE UNITED STATES ALREADY
CLAIMED HALF OF THE WEST.

IN 40 MORE YEARS,
AMERICANS WOULD HAVE IT ALL.

Momaday: IF YOU COULD TAKE
A PHOTOGRAPH, AT THAT TIME,

YOU HAVE ONE WORLD.

AND IT IS A WORLD
THAT IS FULL OF GOOD THINGS

AS FAR AS THE INDIANS
ARE CONCERNED...

GAME IS PLENTIFUL, THEIR WAY
OF LIFE IS CLEARLY ESTABLISHED

IN TERMS OF THAT LANDSCAPE.

BUT JUST OFF THE PICTURE PLANE,
THERE ARE THESE THINGS

THAT ARE ABOUT TO DESCEND
UPON THAT WORLD.

AND FOR THE INDIAN,
THEY ARE VERY BAD.

THE CULTURE
IS SEVERELY THREATENED

BECAUSE OF PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE
WHO ARE COMING IN.

AND THEIR ATTITUDE IS

THAT EVEN THIS WORLD IS NOT
BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF US.

CAPTIONS BY VITAC...
BURBANK, PITTSBURGH, WASHINGTON

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