The West (1996): Season 1, Episode 5 - The Grandest Enterprise Under God - full transcript

"I SEE OVER
MY OWN CONTINENT

"THE PACIFIC RAILROAD...

"SURMOUNTING EVERY BARRIER.

"I SEE CONTINUAL TRAINS
OF CARS

"WINDING
ALONG THE PLATTE,

CARRYING FREIGHT
AND PASSENGERS."

"I HEAR THE LOCOMOTIVES
RUSHING AND ROARING

"AND THE SHRILL
STEAM WHISTLE.

"I HEAR
THE ECHOES REVERBERATE

THROUGH THE GRANDEST
SCENERY IN THE WORLD."

"LO, SOUL,



"SEEST THOU
NOT GOD'S PURPOSE
FROM THE FIRST--

"THE EARTH
TO BE SPANNED,

"CONNECTED BY NETWORKS,

THE LANDS
TO BE WELDED TOGETHER."

WALT WHITMAN.

IT HAD TAKEN THE BLOODSHED
AND SACRIFICE OF THE CIVIL WAR

TO REUNITE THE NATION,
NORTH AND SOUTH.

BUT WHEN THE WAR WAS OVER,

AMERICANS SET OUT
WITH EQUAL DETERMINATION

TO UNITE THE NATION,
EAST AND WEST.

TO DO IT,
THEY WOULD BUILD A RAILROAD.

ITS COMPLETION WOULD BE ONE

OF THE GREATEST TECHNOLOGICAL
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE AGE,

SIGNALING AT LAST,
AS NOTHING ELSE EVER HAD,



THAT THE UNITED STATES WAS
NOT ONLY A CONTINENTAL NATION,

BUT ON ITS WAY
TO BECOMING A WORLD POWER.

AND WHEN THE RAILROAD
WAS FINALLY BUILT,

THE PACE OF CHANGE
WOULD SHIFT

FROM THE STEADY GAIT
OF A TEAM OF OXEN

TO THE POWERFUL SURGE
OF A STEAM LOCOMOTIVE.

THE WEST
WOULD BE TRANSFORMED.

OVERNIGHT, THE RAILROAD
WOULD TURN BARREN SPOTS OF EARTH

INTO RAUCOUS BOOM TOWNS--

NORTH PLATTE
AND JULESBURG,

ABILENE, BEAR RIVER,
WICHITA, AND DODGE.

THE RAILROAD WOULD ALLOW
CIVIL WAR VETERANS,

POOR FARMERS FROM THE EAST,

AND LANDLESS PEASANTS
FROM EUROPE

TO HAVE A FARM
THEY COULD CALL THEIR OWN.

THERE THEY PLANTED
FOREIGN STRAINS OF WHEAT

IN RICH, MATTED PRAIRIE SOIL

THAT HAD NEVER KNOWN
ANYTHING BUT GRASS.

RAILROADS WOULD CARRY

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
OF WESTERN LONGHORNS

TO EASTERN MARKETS

AND TURN THE DUSTY,
SADDLE-SORE MEN WHO HERDED THEM

INTO THE IDOLS
OF EVERY EASTERN SCHOOLBOY.

AND RAILROADS WOULD BRING
ONTO THE GREAT PLAINS

THE BUFFALO HUNTERS,

WHO WOULD DRIVE
A MAGNIFICENT ANIMAL

THAT SYMBOLIZED THE WEST

TO THE BRINK
OF EXTINCTION...

AND WITH IT, A WAY OF LIFE

WITH ROOTS REACHING BACK
BEFORE RECORDED HISTORY.

THE RAILROAD
WOULD DO ALL OF THAT...

BUT FIRST
SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TO BUILD IT.

"THE GREAT PACIFIC RAILWAY
IS COMMENCED.

"IMMIGRATION WILL SOON POUR
INTO THESE VALLEYS.

"10 MILLION EMIGRANTS
WILL SETTLE
IN THIS GOLDEN LAND

"IN 20 YEARS.

THIS IS THE GRANDEST
ENTERPRISE UNDER GOD!"

GEORGE FRANCIS TRAIN.

RAILROADS HAD ALREADY
TRANSFORMED LIFE IN THE EAST,

BUT AT THE END
OF THE CIVIL WAR,

THEY STILL STOPPED
AT THE MISSOURI RIVER.

FOR A QUARTER OF A CENTURY,

MEN HAD DREAMED OF BUILDING
A LINE FROM COAST TO COAST.

NOW THEY WOULD ATTEMPT IT--

1,775 MILES OF TRACK
FROM OMAHA TO SACRAMENTO.

IT WOULD HAVE TO BE CUT
THROUGH MOUNTAINS

HIGHER THAN ANY RAILROAD BUILDER
HAD EVER FACED,

SPAN DESERTS WHERE
THERE WAS NO WATER ANYWHERE,

AND CROSS TREELESS PRAIRIES

WHERE ANXIOUS
AND DEFIANT INDIANS

WOULD RESIST THEIR PASSAGE.

THEY KNEW FROM THE START
THAT IF IT COULD BE COMPLETED,

AMERICANS WOULD HAVE
ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING

NO OTHER PEOPLE
HAD EVER EVEN ATTEMPTED.

"IN THE RIPENESS OF TIME,

"THE HOPE OF HUMANITY
IS REALIZED.

"THIS CONTINENTAL RAILWAY
WILL BIND THE TWO SEABOARDS

"TO THIS ONE
CONTINENTAL UNION

"LIKE EARS
TO THE HUMAN HEAD

"TO PLANT THE FOUNDATIONS
OF THE UNION SO BROAD AND DEEP

"THAT NO POSSIBLE FORCE
OR STRATAGEM

CAN SHAKE ITS PERMANENCE."

WILLIAM GILPIN.

THE WEST COULDN'T BE SETTLED
WITHOUT RAILROADS,

AND A RAILROAD ACROSS THE WEST
COULDN'T BE BUILT

WITHOUT THE GOVERNMENT.

THE DISTANCES
WERE TOO GREAT,

THE COSTS TOO STAGGERING,

THE RISKS TOO HIGH
FOR ANY GROUP OF BUSINESSMEN.

IT WAS ONLY
THROUGH THE GOVERNMENT'S HELP

THAT ANYTHING
OF THIS GARGANTUAN SIZE

COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED,
MUCH AS LANDING ON THE MOON.

IT WAS NOT RUGGED INDIVIDUALISTS
WHO BUILT THE RAILROAD.

IT WAS RUGGED CORPORATIONS
WHO FORMED

AND FINANCED THEMSELVES
AS ENTITIES.

IT WAS
THE RUGGED FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

THAT CAME UP
WITH THE FEDERAL LOANS

AND THE LAND GRANTS

THAT ENABLED IT
TO BE BUILT.

AMID ALL THE ROMANCE
OF THE BUILDING OF THE RAILROAD,

WE TEND TO FORGET
THAT IT WAS ONE OF

THE MAJOR
INDUSTRIAL ENTERPRISES

OF ITS AGE.

IN 1862, CONGRESS GAVE CHARTERS

TO TWO COMPANIES TO BUILD IT.

THE CENTRAL PACIFIC WAS TO PUSH
EASTWARD FROM SACRAMENTO

OVER THE SIERRA NEVADA
MOUNTAINS.

THE UNION PACIFIC WAS TO START
FROM THE MISSOURI,

CROSS THE GREAT PLAINS,
AND CUT THROUGH THE ROCKIES.

BOTH COMPANIES WERE
TO RECEIVE VAST LOANS

FROM THE TREASURY
AS THEY WENT ALONG--

$16,000 PER MILE
OF LEVEL TRACK,

$32,000 IN THE PLATEAUS,

AND $48,000
IN THE MOUNTAINS.

LOBBYISTS GOT THE RATES DOUBLED
WITHIN A YEAR.

LELAND STANFORD,
GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA

AND PRESIDENT
OF THE CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD,

PERSUADED A MALLEABLE GEOLOGIST,
PROFESSOR JOSIAH WHITNEY,

TO DECLARE THE GENTLY SLOPING
SACRAMENTO VALLEY

A MOUNTAINOUS REGION

SO THAT THE CENTRAL PACIFIC
COULD COLLECT

THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE RATE
FOR LAYING TRACK ACROSS IT.

A GRATEFUL
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE

LATER NAMED ITS HIGHEST PEAK
MOUNT WHITNEY

IN THE PROFESSOR'S HONOR.

CONGRESS ALSO PROMISED
EACH COMPANY

6,400 ACRES OF FEDERAL LAND

FOR EVERY MILE OF TRACK
IT LAID.

THE RAILROADS GOT
THE RIGHT OF WAY,

AND ALONG THE RIGHT OF WAY,

MILES AND MILES OF WHAT WAS THEN
THE GOVERNMENT'S LAND.

WHEN YOU ADDED IT
ALL TOGETHER,

IT WAS A GIFT OF ROUGHLY
THE SIZE OF CALIFORNIA

PLUS MOST OF MONTANA.

IT WAS INCREDIBLE.

THE UNION PACIFIC
AND CENTRAL PACIFIC

WERE SOON LOCKED IN A RACE

TO SEE WHO COULD LAY
THE MOST TRACK

AND, THEREFORE,
GET THE MOST LAND AND MONEY.

SOMEWHERE IN THE WEST,
NO ONE KNEW EXACTLY WHERE,

THE TWO LINES
WERE SUPPOSED TO MEET.

"IT IS A GRAND ANVIL CHORUS

"THAT THESE STURDY SLEDGES
ARE PLAYING ACROSS THE PLAINS.

"IT IS IN TRIPLE TIME,
3 STROKES TO A SPIKE.

"21 MILLION TIMES
ARE THEY TO COME DOWN

"WITH THEIR
SHARP PUNCTUATION

"BEFORE THE GREAT WORK
OF MODERN AMERICA

IS COMPLETE."

DR. WILLIAM A. BELL.

IN NEBRASKA, SOME 10,000 MEN

WERE AT WORK
ON THE UNION PACIFIC,

HEADING WEST.

MOST WERE IMMIGRANTS

FROM IRELAND,

BUT THERE WERE ALSO

MEXICANS AND GERMANS,

ENGLISHMEN, EX-SOLDIERS,
AND FORMER SLAVES--

AN ARMY OF WORKMEN
MOVING ACROSS THE PLAINS

WITH MILITARY PRECISION.

THERE WAS NO TIME FOR REST.

A 20-CAR WORK TRAIN

HOUSED AND FED THE MEN
WHO ROSE AT DAWN.

A SUPPLY TRAIN CARRIED
EVERYTHING NEEDED THAT DAY--

RAILS, TIES,
SPIKES, RODS--

ALL OF WHICH HAD TO BE LOADED
ONTO FLATCARS

AND RUN UP TO THE RAILHEAD,

WHERE THE IRON MEN
WERE ALREADY WAITING.

EACH RAIL
WEIGHED 700 POUNDS.

IT TOOK 5 MEN
TO LIFT IT INTO PLACE.

2 OR 3 MILES A DAY,
EVERY DAY,

6 DAYS A WEEK,

WEEK IN AND WEEK OUT.

AS THE UNION PACIFIC CREWS
WORKED THEIR WAY WESTWARD

ACROSS THE PRAIRIE,

HUNDREDS OF PROSTITUTES,
PIMPS, GAMBLERS,

SALOON KEEPERS, GUNMEN
FOLLOWED RIGHT BEHIND--

"A CARNIVOROUS HORDE,"
ONE MAN RECALLED,

"HUNGRIER THAN
THE NATIVE GRASSHOPPERS"

AND EAGER TO DEVOUR
THE MEN'S WEEKLY PAY.

THE SUCCESSION
OF BASE CAMPS

THE UNION PACIFIC BUILT
ROUGHLY 70 MILES APART

ALL HAD DIFFERENT NAMES--

ELKHORN, FREMONT, OGLALLA,

LARAMIE, GREEN RIVER,
AND CHEYENNE.

SAY YOU'RE IN WYOMING,

SAY YOU'RE AT CITADEL ROCK
ON THE GREEN RIVER IN WYOMING

AND YOU'RE LOOKING
INTO THE DISTANCE,

AND THERE'S NOTHING,

AND BEHIND YOU, THERE'S TRACK
GOING ALL THE WAY TO OMAHA.

THE DONKEY ENGINES COMING IN
AND GETTING OUT,

HAULING IN MATERIALS,
THE CLATTER AND THE BUSTLE

AND THE WORK AROUND YOU
AT ALL TIMES,

THE CLANGING OF
THE SLEDGEHAMMERS ON THE RAILS

ECHOING IN THE WILDERNESS

THAT HAD NEVER KNOWN
ANYTHING LIKE THIS, EVER.

THE SOUNDS
OF THE LOCOMOTIVES

BELCHING SMOKE
INTO A PREVIOUSLY PRISTINE SKY--

THERE HAD NEVER BEEN
A SOUND LIKE THIS EVER BEFORE.

"EVERYTHING THE KIOWAS HAD
CAME FROM THE BUFFALO."

"THEIR TEEPEES WERE MADE
OF BUFFALO HIDES.

"SO WERE THEIR CLOTHES
AND MOCCASINS.

"THEY ATE BUFFALO MEAT.

"THEIR CONTAINERS
WERE MADE OF HIDE

"OR OF BLADDERS
OR STOMACHS.

"MOST OF ALL,

"THE BUFFALO WAS PART
OF THE KIOWA RELIGION.

THE BUFFALO WERE
THE LIFE OF THE KIOWAS."

OLD LADY HORSE.

OF ALL THE WEST'S
NATURAL WONDERS,

NONE SURPASSED
THE HUGE HERDS OF BUFFALO

THAT BLANKETED THE PLAINS--

PERHAPS ONCE AS MANY
AS 30 MILLION OF THEM.

THEY HAD FRIGHTENED
CORONADO'S HORSES BY THEIR SMELL

AND ASTONISHED LEWIS AND CLARK
BY THEIR SHEER NUMBERS.

ONE WAGON TRAIN OF PIONEERS
WAS BLOCKED FOR HOURS

BY A HERD 3 MILES WIDE
AND 10 MILES LONG.

BUT FOR THE NATIVE PEOPLES
OF THE PLAINS,

THEY REPRESENTED
EXISTENCE ITSELF.

THE BUFFALO,

WHICH WAS THE ANIMAL
REPRESENTATION OF THE SUN,

WAS THE SACRIFICIAL VICTIM
OF THE SUN DANCE.

THE SUN DANCE
WAS A GREAT CELEBRATION,

A GREAT SOCIAL OCCASION,

AND THE SUN DANCERS
WERE EXPRESSING THEIR SPIRIT

IN ORDER TO GAIN
CERTAIN POWER.

THEY WANTED TO BE
VICTORIOUS IN WAR.

THEY WANTED TO GIVE THANKS

FOR SOMETHING GOOD
THAT HAD COME TO THEM.

A BUFFALO BULL
IS SACRIFICED,

AND ITS HEAD IS IMPALED
IN THE SUN DANCE LODGE

OR NEAR IT,

AND IT'S PART OF THE RITUAL.

YOU CAN'T HAVE A SUN DANCE
WITHOUT THE BUFFALO.

BY THE LATE 1860s,

THEIR NUMBERS
HAD ALREADY DECLINED,

REDUCED BY DISEASE,
COMPETITION FROM HORSE HERDS,

AND BY THE BUFFALO ROBE TRADE

THAT ENCOURAGED
SOME INDIAN BANDS

TO KILL MORE
THAN THEY NEEDED.

AND NOW THE UNION PACIFIC
HIRED MEN TO HUNT BUFFALO

TO FEED
THE HUNGRY RAILROAD CREWS

AS THEY BUILT THEIR IRON ROAD
ACROSS INDIAN LANDS.

"WE SAW THE FIRST TRAIN OF CARS
THAT ANY OF US HAD SEEN.

"WE LOOKED AT IT
FROM A HIGH RIDGE.

"FAR OFF,
IT WAS VERY SMALL,

"BUT IT KEPT COMING
AND GROWING LARGER
ALL THE TIME,

"PUFFING OUT
SMOKE AND STEAM,

"AND AS IT CAME ON,
WE SAID TO EACH OTHER

THAT IT LOOKED
LIKE A WHITE MAN'S PIPE
WHEN HE WAS SMOKING."

PORCUPINE.

THE CHEYENNE
AND ARAPAHO AND LAKOTA

RESENTED
THE RAILROAD'S INTRUSION.

THEY DERAILED TRAINS,
RANSACKED FREIGHT CARS,

FIRED ON SURVEYING CREWS.

THE UNION PACIFIC
FELL BEHIND SCHEDULE.

ON JUNE 26, 1867,

AN ARMY DETAIL WAS OVERTAKEN
BY A WAR PARTY.

ONE OF THOSE KILLED
WAS FREDERICK WYLLYAMS,

WHO HAD COME
ALL THE WAY FROM ENGLAND

IN SEARCH OF ADVENTURE.

ANOTHER ENGLISHMAN,
AN AMATEUR ETHNOLOGIST,

PHOTOGRAPHED
HIS COUNTRYMAN'S CORPSE.

"THE MUSCLES
OF THE RIGHT ARM,

"HACKED TO THE BONE,

"SPEAK OF THE CHEYENNE,
OR "CUT ARMS."

"THE NOSE SLIT DENOTED
THE "SMELLER TRIBE,"
OR ARAPAHO.

AND THE THROAT CUT
BEARS WITNESS THAT THE SIOUX
WERE ALSO PRESENT."

"IT WAS EVIDENT
FROM THE NUMBER
OF DIFFERENT DEVICES

"THAT WARRIORS
FROM SEVERAL TRIBES

"HAD EACH PURPOSELY
LEFT ONE

IN THE DEAD MAN'S BODY."

DR. WILLIAM A. BELL.

FINALLY,
5,000 TROOPS WERE SENT WEST

TO PROVIDE THE RAILROAD WORKERS
WITH PROTECTION.

THE CREWS
WENT BACK TO WORK.

WHILE THE UNION PACIFIC
MOVED WEST AGAIN

ACROSS THE GREAT PLAINS,

IN CALIFORNIA,
THE CENTRAL PACIFIC,

AFTER A FAST START,

HAD GOTTEN STUCK
IN THE SIERRA NEVADAS.

THE MOUNTAINS
SEEMED IMPENETRABLE,

AND TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE,

CHARLES CROCKER, WHOSE JOB
IT WAS TO BREAK THROUGH THEM,

COULD NOT SEEM TO HOLD ON
TO HIS WORKERS.

3 OUT OF 5
STUCK WITH HIM JUST LONG ENOUGH

TO GET A FREE RIDE
TO THE RAILHEAD,

THEN SET OUT ON THEIR OWN
FOR THE NEVADA GOLD FIELDS.

HIS PLANS CALLED FOR
A WORK FORCE OF 5,000.

HE HAD FEWER THAN 600.

DESPERATE, HE SUGGESTED TO HIS
SUPERINTENDENT OF CONSTRUCTION,

JAMES STROBRIDGE,

THAT HE TRY THE CHINESE,
WHO WERE EKING OUT A LIVING

WORKING THE GOLD
AND SILVER TAILINGS

ABANDONED BY OTHERS.

STROBRIDGE WAS AGAINST IT.

HE THOUGHT THE CHINESE
WERE TOO SMALL, TOO FRAIL.

THEY HAD NO EXPERIENCE
BUILDING RAILROADS.

CROCKER TOLD STROBRIDGE
TO GIVE THE CHINESE A CHANCE.

AFTER ALL, HE SAID,

THEY HAD BUILT
THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA.

THE FIRST CHINESE
BEGAN TURNING UP IN EARLY 1865,

EAGER TO WORK.

THEY WERE ALREADY ORGANIZED
INTO WORK GANGS,

EACH WITH ITS OWN HEADMAN.

CROCKER EXPECTED
THAT THESE FELLOWS

WOULD COME UP THERE
IN ONES AND TWOS

LIKE
THE OTHER NATIONALITIES,

AND HE FOUND THAT THE CHINESE
SORT OF MARCHED UP THERE

AS ONE GROUP,

AND ALL HE HAD TO DO
WAS TO DEAL WITH THE, UM...

THE FOREMAN OF THAT GROUP.

OF COURSE,
HE WOULD BE THE CLAN LEADER.

BEFORE LONG,

11,000 CHINESE WERE AT WORK
ON THE CENTRAL PACIFIC,

AND CROCKER WAS ADVERTISING
FOR MORE IN CHINA.

BUT HARD WORK ALONE WAS NO MATCH
FOR THE SIERRA NEVADAS.

STROBRIDGE WORRIED
THAT HIS CENTRAL PACIFIC

WAS FALLING
EVEN FURTHER BEHIND

IN THEIR RACE
WITH THE UNION PACIFIC

AND SOON ARMED THE CHINESE
WITH BLACK POWDER

TO BLAST THEIR WAY THROUGH.

IT TOOK 500 KEGS OF IT A DAY,
WEEK AFTER WEEK,

TO CARVE CUTS
THROUGH THE FOOTHILLS.

AND THEN THEY CAME UP AGAINST
A FACE THEY CALLED CAPE HORN--

SOLID ROCK
NEARLY STRAIGHT UP AND DOWN

2,000 FEET
ABOVE A RAGING RIVER.

THERE WERE NO FOOTHOLDS,

BUT THE CHINESE WERE TOLD
TO MAKE A LEDGE IN THE CLIFF

WIDE ENOUGH FOR A TRAIN.

MY GRANDFATHER WAS
ONE OF THE PEOPLE

THAT THEY PUT
IN THE BASKETS

BECAUSE HE WAS SMALL
AND LIGHT.

AND WHAT THEY DID WAS

THEY WOULD BE LOWERED
OVER CLIFFS,

AND THEY WOULD DRILL HOLES,

AND THEN THEY'D SET
THE DYNAMITE IN THEM,

AND THEN
THEY'D LIGHT THE DYNAMITE,

AND THEN THEY'D PULL THEM UP
BY THESE, UH...

BY THE BASKETS.

AND THEN THEY
HAD TO GET OUT OF THERE

BEFORE THE DYNAMITE
EXPLODED.

"HUGE MASSES
OF ROCK AND DEBRIS

"WERE RENT AND HEAVED UP
IN THE COMMOTION.

"THEN CAME THE THUNDERS
OF THE EXPLOSION

"LIKE A LIGHTNING STROKE,

"REVERBERATING ALONG
THE HILLS AND CANYONS

AS IF THE WHOLE ARTILLERY
OF HEAVEN WAS IN PLAY."

BEFORE THE CENTRAL PACIFIC
COULD GET THROUGH THE SIERRAS,

THE CREWS HAD TO GOUGE OUT
15 TUNNELS.

THEY WORKED IN SHIFTS
AROUND THE CLOCK

BUT AVERAGED
JUST 8 INCHES A DAY.

AND THEY HAD TO KEEP AT IT
IN EVERY KIND OF WEATHER.

"SNOWSTORMS,

"44 IN NUMBER,

"VARIED IN LENGTH
FROM A SHORT SNOW SQUALL

"TO A TWO-WEEK GALE.

"THE HEAVIEST STORM
OF THE WINTER

"BEGAN FEBRUARY 18th
AT 2 P.M.

"AND SNOWED STEADILY
UNTIL 10 P.M. OF THE 22nd,

DURING WHICH TIME
6 FEET FELL."

JOHN R. GILLS.

CHARLES CROCKER
HAD TO PUNCH THE LINE

THROUGH THE SIERRAS
THAT WINTER,

THE WINTER OF '66.

AND THE CHINESE
THEN HAD TO BUILD THE RAILROAD,

LAY THE TRACKS.

SO THEY BUILT THESE TUNNELS
UNDER THE SNOW

TO KEEP ADVANCING
THE LINE.

AND SOMETIMES
THERE WOULD BE SNOWSLIDES,

AND ENTIRE CREWS OF CHINESE
WOULD BE TRAPPED

UNDER TONS OF SNOW,

AND THEIR BODIES
WOULD BE LEFT THERE

AND FOUND
THE FOLLOWING SPRING.

SOMETIMES THE BODIES
WERE FOUND

WITH THE PICKS AND THE SHOVELS
STILL IN THEIR HANDS.

NO ONE KEPT A PRECISE COUNT,

BUT MORE THAN 1,200 CHINESE DIED
DIGGING AND BLASTING

FOR CHARLES CROCKER
AND THE CENTRAL PACIFIC.

WHEN SOMEBODY DIED,

YOU JUST DIDN'T DIG
A GRAVE FOR HIM

AND PUT HIM DOWN
IN THE GRAVE.

YOU WENT TO A LOT OF TROUBLE
TO GET HIS REMAINS

BACK TO THE VILLAGE
THAT HE CAME FROM

BECAUSE A CHINESE DOESN'T WANT
TO BE BURIED ANYWHERE.

HE WANTS TO BE BURIED
WHERE HIS ANCESTORS WERE BURIED

BECAUSE HE WANTS
TO STICK TOGETHER.

FINALLY, IN 1868,

AFTER 3 LONG YEARS OF
BACKBREAKING, DANGEROUS LABOR,

THE CENTRAL PACIFIC CREWS
DID WHAT FEW HAD BELIEVED

ANYONE COULD DO--

THEY BROKE OUT
OF THE HIGH SIERRAS.

"JOHN CHINAMAN
WITH HIS PATIENT TOIL,

"DIRECTED BY AMERICAN ENERGY
AND BACKED BY AMERICAN CAPITAL,

"HAS BROKEN DOWN
THE GREAT BARRIER AT LAST

"AND OPENED OVER IT

"THE GREATEST HIGHWAY
YET CREATED

"FOR THE MARCH OF COMMERCE
AND CIVILIZATION

AROUND THE GLOBE."

"TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE."

THE HARDEST PART
WAS BEHIND THEM.

THE CENTRAL PACIFIC
WAS BACK IN THE RACE.

"WE HIDATSAS BELIEVE THAT
ONLY MAN AND FIRST CREATOR

"SPLIT UP THE JOB
OF CREATION.

"THEY MADE THE RIVER

AND THE PLAINS
AND THE BADLANDS."

"TO POPULATE THEM,

"FIRST CREATOR
MADE THE BUFFALO,

"BUT ONLY MAN CREATED
A WHITE MAN

AND THE SPOTTED COWS
THE WHITE MAN RAISED."

"WHEN FIRST CREATOR SAW
WHAT ONLY MAN HAD DONE,

"HE SAID, 'YOU ARE FOOLISH
TO MAKE THESE THINGS.

"'THE WHITE MEN ARE
A QUEER KIND OF MEN,

"AND THEY WILL ALWAYS
BE GREEDY.'

"'THAT IS SO,'
SAID ONLY MAN,

"AND SO HE OPENED
A HOLE IN THE EARTH

AND SENT ALL THE SPOTTED COWS
DOWN UNDERGROUND."

"'BUT WHEN THE BUFFALO
ARE ALL GONE,' HE SAID,

"'THE SPOTTED COWS
WILL COME AGAIN

AND COVER THIS EARTH
AS THE BUFFALOES DID.'"

"ABOVE ALL THINGS,

"THE PLAINSMAN
HAD TO HAVE A SENSE,

"AN INSTINCT FOR DIRECTION.

"FEW MEN
HAVE THIS INSTINCT.

"YET IN THE FEW,

"IT IS TO BE TRUSTED
AS ABSOLUTELY

AS THE HOMING INSTINCT
OF A WILD GOOSE."

"I NEVER HAD A COMPASS
IN MY LIFE.

I WAS NEVER LOST."

CHARLES GOODNIGHT.

CHARLES GOODNIGHT
WAS USED TO TOUGH TIMES.

A DIRT FARMER'S SON,
HE HAD RIDDEN BAREBACK

ALL THE WAY
FROM ILLINOIS TO TEXAS

AT THE AGE OF 9

AND HAD BEEN WORKING FULL-TIME
TO SUPPORT HIS WIDOWED MOTHER

SINCE HE WAS 11.

AT 19, HE AND HIS BROTHER WENT
INTO THE CATTLE BUSINESS.

STILL TOO POOR
TO BUY THEIR OWN HERD,

THEY AGREED TO WATCH OVER
SOMEONE ELSE'S,

RECEIVING EVERY FOURTH CALF
AS PAY.

GOODNIGHT HAD MANAGED TO COLLECT
180 HEAD OF HIS OWN

BY THE TIME
THE CIVIL WAR BROKE OUT,

BUT HE LEFT HIS CATTLE
TO JOIN THE TEXAS RANGERS

AND FIGHT
FOR THE CONFEDERACY.

WHEN HE RETURNED TO HIS RANCH
AT THE END OF THE WAR,

HE FOUND THE CATTLE BUSINESS
IN RUINS.

TEXAS HERDS
HAD MULTIPLIED WILDLY

FROM 3.5 MILLION
TO 6 MILLION--

SO MANY THAT BEEF PRICES
FELL TO NEARLY NOTHING.

"IT LOOKED LIKE EVERYTHING
WORTH LIVING FOR WAS GONE.

"THE ENTIRE COUNTRY
WAS DEPRESSED.

THERE WAS NO HOPE."

THE ONLY WAY
TO SURVIVE AS A CATTLEMAN,

GOODNIGHT DECIDED,

WAS TO TAKE HIS HERDS NORTH
TO BETTER MARKETS--

THE INDIAN RESERVATIONS,
COLORADO MINING CAMPS,

AND THE UNION PACIFIC
RAILROAD CREWS

NOW WORKING THEIR WAY
ACROSS WYOMING.

TO REACH THEM,

HE AND HIS PARTNER,
OLIVER LOVING,

WITH 18 COWBOYS
AND 2,000 CATTLE,

BLAZED A NEW TRAIL IN 1866.

AND WHEN THE LONG DRIVE
WAS DONE,

THE PARTNERS CLEARED $24,000,

MORE THAN THEY HAD EVER
DREAMED OF GETTING.

THEY HURRIED BACK TO TEXAS
TO BUY MORE CATTLE,

THEN HEADED RIGHT BACK UP

THE NEWLY NAMED
"GOODNIGHT-LOVING TRAIL"

BEFORE ANYONE ELSE
COULD BEAT THEM TO IT.

"LOVING WAS A MAN
OF RELIGIOUS INSTINCTS

"AND ONE OF THE COOLEST
AND BRAVEST MEN

"I'VE EVER KNOWN...

BUT DEVOID OF CAUTION."

LOVING PUSHED ON AHEAD
TO GET IN THE PARTNERS' BID

FOR NEW GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS,

BUT COMANCHES CAUGHT HIM
ON THE OPEN PLAIN,

SHOT HIM IN
THE WRIST AND SIDE,

AND CHASED HIM
TO A RIVERBANK,

WHERE HE HELD THEM OFF
FOR SEVERAL DAYS

BEFORE HE CRAWLED TO SAFETY
IN THE NIGHT.

HE WAS PICKED UP
BY A PASSING WAGON

AND TAKEN
TO AN ARMY HOSPITAL,

BUT IT WAS TOO LATE
TO SAVE HIM.

THE NIGHT LOVING DIED,

HE CALLED HIS PARTNER
TO HIS SIDE.

"HIS MIND TURNED
BACK TO TEXAS,

"AND AT LAST
HE SAID,

"'I REGRET TO HAVE
TO BE LAID AWAY

"IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY.'"

"I ASSURED HIM THAT
HE NEED HAVE NO FEARS...

"THAT I WOULD SEE
THAT HIS REMAINS

"WERE LAID IN
THE CEMETERY AT HOME.

"HE FELT THIS WOULD BE
IMPOSSIBLE,

BUT I TOLD HIM
IT WOULD BE DONE."

GOODNIGHT ORDERED HIS MEN
TO FASHION A TIN CASKET

OUT OF FLATTENED CANS.

THEY PUT LOVING'S
WOODEN COFFIN INSIDE,

COVERED IT WITH CHARCOAL,
SEALED THE TOP,

AND PLACED IT IN A WAGON.

FLANKED BY A COWBOY ESCORT,

GOODNIGHT STARTED
BACK SOUTH FOR TEXAS.

WORD OF THEIR PROFITS
HAD SPREAD

THROUGHOUT CATTLE COUNTRY,

AND OTHER OUTFITS WERE ALREADY
STREAMING NORTH,

HEADED NOW
FOR THE NEAREST RAILHEADS

FROM WHICH THEY COULD SHIP
THEIR STEERS EAST.

A NEW INDUSTRY HAD BEEN BORN.

BUT IN FEBRUARY OF 1868,
CHARLES GOODNIGHT,

THE MAN WHO HAD HELPED
START IT ALL,

WAS HEADED
IN THE OTHER DIRECTION.

KEEPING HIS PROMISE
TO HIS DEAD PARTNER,

HE WAS TAKING
OLIVER LOVING HOME.

"RAILWAYS, MULTIPLIED
AND SPANNING THE CONTINENT,

"ARE ESSENTIAL
DOMESTIC INSTITUTIONS,

"MORE POWERFUL
AND MORE PERMANENT THAN LAW

"OR POPULAR CONSENT
OR POLITICAL CONSTITUTIONS

"TO THOROUGHLY COMPLETE
THE GRAND SYSTEM

WHICH FRATERNIZES US
INTO ONE PEOPLE."

WILLIAM GILPIN.

BY THE SPRING OF 1869,

THE COMPETITION BETWEEN
THE CENTRAL PACIFIC

AND THE UNION PACIFIC

WAS CONVERGING
ON NORTHERN UTAH.

RIVAL ARMIES OF RAILROAD MEN
VIED TO COVER THE MOST GROUND

AND EARN THE MOST MONEY
FOR THEIR EMPLOYERS

BEFORE THE TWO LINES
FINALLY MET.

THEY TRIED TO OUTDO
ONE ANOTHER,

FIRST LAYING 5 MILES OF TRACK
IN A SINGLE DAY,

THEN 6, THEN 7,
AND THEN 10 MILES--

A PACE OF RAILROAD-BUILDING

SUCH AS THE WORLD
HAD NEVER SEEN.

NO FIXED RENDEZVOUS POINT
HAD EVER BEEN ESTABLISHED.

GRADING CREWS
FOR THE TWO COMPANIES,

WORKING FAR AHEAD
OF THE TRACK LAYERS,

PASSED EACH OTHER
IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS

AND PUSHED ON
FOR HUNDREDS OF MILES...

SOMETIMES WORKING SO CLOSE
TO ONE ANOTHER

THAT EXPLOSIONS SET OFF
BY ONE WORK GANG

SPATTERED ITS RIVALS
WITH DIRT.

FINALLY, THE GOVERNMENT
INTERVENED

AND PICKED PROMONTORY SUMMIT,
56 MILES WEST OF OGDEN,

AS THE PLACE WHERE
THE TWO LINES WOULD MEET.

THE RACE ACROSS THE WEST
WAS COMING TO A CLOSE AT LAST.

ON MAY 10, 1869,
EVERYTHING WAS READY.

A TELEGRAPHER STOOD BY

TO SIGNAL TO BOTH COASTS
AND ALL POINTS IN BETWEEN

THE DRIVING
OF THE FINAL SPIKE.

"TO EVERYBODY,
KEEP QUIET.

"WHEN THE LAST SPIKE
IS DRIVEN

"AT PROMONTORY POINT,

"WE WILL SAY, 'DONE!'

"DON'T BREAK THE CIRCUIT,

"BUT WATCH
FOR THE SIGNALS

OF THE BLOWS
OF THE HAMMER."

"WE UNDERSTAND.

ALL ARE READY
IN THE EAST."

4 SPIKES--
TWO GOLD, ONE SILVER,

AND THE FOURTH A BLEND
OF GOLD, SILVER, AND IRON--

WERE TO BE TAPPED GENTLY
INTO POSITION

WITH A SILVER MAUL
TO MARK THE OCCASION,

AND THEN A FINAL SPIKE--

AN ORDINARY ONE, BUT WIRED
TO THE TELEGRAPHER'S KEY--

WAS TO BE HAMMERED
INTO THE GROUND.

"ALMOST READY."

"O FATHER..."

"HATS OFF.
PRAYER IS BEING OFFERED."

"WE DESIRE
TO ACKNOWLEDGE
THY HANDIWORK

IN THIS GREAT WORK."

"THE SPIKE
WILL SOON BE DRIVEN."

"...AND THAT
MIGHTY ENTERPRISE
MAY BE UNTO US

"AS THE ATLANTIC OF
THY STRENGTH

"AND THE PACIFIC
OF THY LOVE,

THROUGH JESUS
THE REDEEMER, AMEN."

"WE HAVE GOT DONE
PRAYING.

THE SPIKE IS ABOUT
TO BE PRESENTED."

THE FINAL SPIKE
WAS SLID INTO PLACE.

LELAND STANFORD
OF THE CENTRAL PACIFIC

WAS TO HAVE THE HONOR
OF DRIVING IT HOME.

"THE SIGNAL WILL BE
3 DOTS

FOR THE COMMENCEMENT
OF THE BLOWS."

STANFORD SWUNG THE HAMMER
HIGH ABOVE HIS HEAD,

BROUGHT IT DOWN--

AND MISSED.

THE TELEGRAPHER CLOSED
THE CIRCUIT ANYWAY.

"DONE!"

IN WASHINGTON,
A GREAT CHEER WENT UP

FROM THE BIG CROWD IN FRONT OF
THE TELEGRAPH OFFICE,

AND AN ILLUMINATED BALL DROPPED
FROM THE DOME OF THE CAPITOL.

AT INDEPENDENCE HALL
IN PHILADELPHIA,

THE LIBERTY BELL WAS RUNG--

GINGERLY, SO THAT ITS CRACK
WOULD NOT WORSEN--

AND IN SAN FRANCISCO,

A HUGE BANNER WAS UNFURLED
THAT PROCLAIMED,

"CALIFORNIA ANNEXES
THE UNITED STATES."

THE VAST DISTANCES OF THE WEST
HAD AT LAST BEEN CONQUERED.

A JOURNEY THAT
HAD ONCE TAKEN MONTHS

COULD NOW BE ACCOMPLISHED
IN A MATTER OF DAYS.

ONCE THE RAILS
WERE JOINED AT PROMONTORY,

I THINK YOU CAN SAY

THAT WE BEGAN
FOR THE FIRST TIME TRULY

TO THINK OF OURSELVES
AS A CONTINENTAL NATION.

IT WAS A KIND OF A REACH
OF THE NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS

INTO A PLACE

THAT HAD ONCE
ONLY BEEN OCCUPIED

BY DREAMS AND MYTHS
AND IMAGINATION,

AND HERE WAS THE GREAT
TECHNOLOGICAL MARVEL

OF ITS TIME

CRASHING THROUGH
THOSE MYTHIC BARRIERS

AND GOING
INTO A VERY REAL PLACE.

THAT MOMENT AT PROMONTORY POINT

IS A MOMENT
OF TREMENDOUS SIGNIFICANCE

BECAUSE ON EITHER SIDE
OF THAT MOMENT

WERE VASTLY DIFFERENT WORLDS,
RADICALLY DIFFERENT WORLDS.

IT FORETOLD
THE WHOLE STORY OF TECHNOLOGY,

THE COMING OF THE MACHINE,

AND WHAT COULD BE MORE SYMBOLIC
OF THAT NEW AGE,

YOU KNOW, THAN THE COMPLETION
OF THE RAILROAD

AND THE DRIVING
OF THE GOLDEN SPIKE?

NOTHING WOULD EVER BE THE SAME
IN THE WEST.

♪ OUR CAMP IS UNITED,
WE ALL LABOR HARD ♪

♪ AND IF WE ARE FAITHFUL,
WE'LL GAIN OUR REWARD ♪

♪ OUR LEADER IS WISE
AND A GREAT LEADER, TOO ♪

♪ AND ALL THINGS HE TELLS US,
WE'RE RIGHT GLAD TO DO ♪

♪ HOORAY, HOORAH,
THE RAILROAD'S BEGUN ♪

♪ THREE CHEERS
FOR OUR CONTRACTOR ♪

♪ HIS NAME'S
BRIGHAM YOUNG ♪

♪ HOORAY, HOORAH,
WE'RE LIGHTHEARTED AND GAY ♪

♪ JUST THE RIGHT KIND OF BOYS
TO BUILD A RAILWAY ♪

BRIGHAM YOUNG HAD BROUGHT
HIS MORMON PEOPLE WEST

IN SEARCH OF SANCTUARY FROM
THE REST OF THE UNITED STATES,

BUT THE NEW
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD

NOW RAN RIGHT THROUGH UTAH,

AND IT BEGAN BRINGING
THOUSANDS OF NEW SETTLERS

INTO YOUNG'S KINGDOM--

NONBELIEVERS
WHO THREATENED HIS AUTHORITY

AND DEPLORED THE MORMON PRACTICE
OF PLURAL MARRIAGE, POLYGAMY.

THE MORMONS MUST HAVE VIEWED

THE COMPLETION
OF THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD

WITH AN INCREDIBLE
AMBIGUITY.

ON THE ONE HAND, THEY WERE
A VERY COMMERCIAL PEOPLE.

THEY UNDERSTOOD
PRECISELY HOW IMPORTANT

THE RAILROAD WAS GOING TO BE

TO THE GROWTH OF BUSINESS
AND INDUSTRY IN UTAH.

ON THE OTHER HAND,

BEING ABLE TO SUSTAIN
THEIR WAY OF LIFE

DEPENDED ALMOST ABSOLUTELY ON
A POWERFUL DEGREE OF ISOLATION.

THE RAILROAD DESTROYED THAT.

THE RAILROAD
OPENED UP THE GATES.

THE RAILROAD LET THE WORLD IN

AND SOMETIMES
LET THE MORMONS OUT,

AND IT HAD TO HAVE BEEN
A TERRIBLE BLOW

TO THE BASE OF THE SOCIETY'S
CONFIDENCE IN ITSELF.

IN 1870, SOME 5,000 MORMON WOMEN
HELD AN "INDIGNATION MEETING"

IN THE SALT LAKE TABERNACLE.

THEY WERE PROTESTING
AGAINST THOSE NONBELIEVERS

WHO HAD DARED CRITICIZE
PLURAL MARRIAGE.

"THE WORLD SAYS

"POLYGAMY MAKES WOMEN
INFERIOR TO MEN.

"WE THINK DIFFERENTLY.

"POLYGAMY GIVES WOMEN
MORE TIME FOR THOUGHT,

"FOR MENTAL CULTURE,

"MORE FREEDOM OF ACTION,

"A BROADER FIELD OF LABOR,

"AND LEADS WOMEN
MORE DIRECTLY TO GOD,

THE FOUNTAIN
OF ALL TRUTH."

EMMELINE WELLS.

ONE OF THE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
AT THE RALLY

WAS A DETERMINED, HARD-WORKING
WOMAN NAMED EMMELINE WELLS.

BORN IN MASSACHUSETTS

AND GRADUATED FROM
A SELECT GIRLS SCHOOL,

WELLS HAD CONVERTED TO MORMONISM
AND MOVED TO NAUVOO, ILLINOIS,

WHERE SHE LOST
HER FIRST CHILD

AND WAS ABANDONED
BY HER HUSBAND--

ALL BEFORE THE AGE OF 16.

A SECOND HUSBAND DIED.

THEN SHE BECAME THE SEVENTH WIFE
OF DANIEL WELLS,

THE MAYOR
OF SALT LAKE CITY.

NOW SHE LIVED
IN HER OWN SMALL HOUSE

AND HELPED TO SUPPORT HERSELF
AND HER FAMILY

WHEN WELLS' FINANCES SUFFERED.

"I HAVE NO STRONG ARM
TO LEAN UPON,

NO PROTECTION OR COMFORT
IN MY HUSBAND,"

SHE WROTE PRIVATELY
IN HER DIARY,

AND YET HER COMMITMENT TO
PLURAL MARRIAGE WAS UNSHAKABLE.

I ACTUALLY THINK

THAT SOME OF THE GREAT FEMINISTS
WERE WOMEN IN POLYGAMY.

MY GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER
IS AMONG THEM.

IF THERE WAS A WOMAN
WHO EXCELLED IN TEACHING,

YOU KNOW,
SHE HAD HER OWN LIFE.

IF THERE WAS ANOTHER WOMAN
WHO EXCELLED

IN COOKING OR FARMING,
SHE HAD HER LIFE,

AND EVERYONE HAD
KIND OF THEIR OWN FOCUS.

THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS
SENSE OF SISTERHOOD,

AND IN MANY WAYS,
THE MEN WERE IMMATERIAL.

THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES,

WOMEN WERE DENIED
THE RIGHT TO VOTE,

AND WELLS,
AS THE OUTSPOKEN EDITOR

OF A POPULAR MORMON NEWSPAPER
FOR WOMEN,

WANTED TO CHANGE THAT.

""THE WOMAN'S EXPONENT,"
VOLUME 1, NUMBER 1.

"MILLIONS
OF INTELLIGENT WOMEN

"ARE DEPRIVED
OF THE VOTE

"SIMPLY BECAUSE NATURE
QUALIFIED THEM

"TO BECOME MOTHERS
AND NOT FATHERS OF MEN.

"THEY MAY OWN PROPERTY,
PAY TAXES,

"ASSIST IN SUPPORTING
THE GOVERNMENT,

"REND THEIR HEART-STRINGS
IN GIVING FOR ITS AID

"THE CHILDREN
OF THEIR AFFECTIONS,

"BUT THEY ARE DENIED
ALL RIGHT TO SAY

"WHO SHALL DISBURSE
THOSE TAXES,

"HOW THAT GOVERNMENT
SHALL BE CONDUCTED,

"OR WHO SHALL DECIDE

"ON A QUESTION
OF PEACE OR WAR,

"WHICH MAY INVOLVE
THE LIVES OF THEIR SONS,

BROTHERS, FATHERS,
AND HUSBANDS."

IN HER PUSH
FOR THE VOTE IN UTAH,

WELLS FOUND A MOST
UNLIKELY ALLY--

THE MORMON PATRIARCH HIMSELF,
BRIGHAM YOUNG.

HE WAS CERTAIN
THAT ADDING MORMON WOMEN

TO THE VOTERS' ROLLS

WOULD ONLY STRENGTHEN
HIS HOLD ON UTAH.

ON FEBRUARY 12, 1870,
WITH YOUNG'S BACKING,

THE UTAH TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE
GRANTED WOMEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE.

TWO DAYS LATER,
THEY EXERCISED IT.

YOUNG'S NIECE VOTED FIRST,

FOLLOWED BY
ONE OF HIS DAUGHTERS.

EVENTUALLY, EMMELINE WELLS
JOINED THE LEADERSHIP

OF THE NATIONAL
SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT,

DETERMINED TO WIN
FOR ALL AMERICAN WOMEN

THE RIGHT NOW ENJOYED IN UTAH,

BUT SHE NEVER STOPPED LOBBYING
FOR ANOTHER CAUSE

JUST AS PRECIOUS TO HER--

THE RIGHT TO REMAIN
A PLURAL WIFE.

"ALL HONOR AND REVERENCE
TO GOOD MEN,

"BUT THEY
AND THEIR ATTENTIONS

"ARE NOT THE ONLY
SOURCE OF HAPPINESS
ON THE EARTH

"AND NEED NOT FILL UP
EVERY THOUGHT OF WOMAN,

"AND WHEN MEN SEE
THAT WOMEN CAN EXIST

"WITHOUT THEIR BEING
CONSTANTLY AT HAND,

"IT WILL PERHAPS TAKE
A LITTLE OF THE CONCEIT

OUT OF SOME OF THEM."

EMMELINE WELLS.

FOLLOWING THE LEAD
OF THE UNION PACIFIC

AND CENTRAL PACIFIC,

OTHER RAIL LINES SOON SPREAD
THROUGHOUT THE WEST--

THE KANSAS PACIFIC,
NORTHERN PACIFIC,

AND DENVER PACIFIC,

THE TEXAS AND PACIFIC,
THE DENVER AND RIO GRANDE,

THE ATCHISON, TOPEKA,
AND SANTA FE.

AND AS THE RAILROADS MOVED
ONTO THE GREAT PLAINS,

THEY BROUGHT WITH THEM PEOPLE
WHO HAD NEVER SEEN THE WEST

OR ITS MOST MAGNIFICENT ANIMAL,
THE BUFFALO.

AT FIRST,
THEY SHOT THE BUFFALO FOR SPORT,

BANGING AWAY AT THE HUGE HERDS

FROM THE WINDOWS
OF PASSENGER CARS.

ONE CHURCH GROUP
FROM LAWRENCE, KANSAS,

ORGANIZED A TWO-DAY
HUNTING EXCURSION

TO RAISE MONEY
FOR THE CONGREGATION.

300 PEOPLE SIGNED UP.

"WHEN THE WHITE MEN
WANTED TO BUILD RAILROADS

"OR WHEN THEY WANTED
TO FARM OR RAISE CATTLE,

"THE BUFFALO STILL
PROTECTED THE KIOWAS.

"THEY TORE UP
THEIR RAILROAD TRACKS

"AND THEIR GARDENS.

"THEY CHASED THE CATTLE
OFF THE RANGES.

"THE BUFFALO
LOVED THEIR PEOPLE

AS MUCH AS THE KIOWAS
LOVED THEM."

"THEN THE WHITE MEN
HIRED HUNTERS

TO DO NOTHING
BUT KILL THE BUFFALO."

OLD LADY HORSE.

"THE BUFFALO DIDN'T
BELONG TO ANYBODY.

"IF YOU
COULD KILL THEM,

"WHAT THEY BROUGHT
WAS YOURS.

THEY WERE WALKING
GOLD PIECES."

FRANK H. MAYER.

FRANK MAYER WAS HANGING AROUND
DODGE CITY, KANSAS,

IN THE HEART
OF BUFFALO COUNTRY,

LOOKING FOR WORK,

WHEN HE MET TWO HUNTERS

WHO OFFERED TO SHOW HIM
THEIR BRAND-NEW TRADE.

"I WAS YOUNG.

I NEEDED ADVENTURE,"
HE REMEMBERED.

"HERE WAS IT."

THE NEW RAIL LINES MEANT

THAT BUFFALO ROBES
AND BUFFALO MEAT

COULD BE TAKEN
TO EASTERN MARKETS

IN GREATER NUMBERS
AT LOWER COSTS,

AND MANUFACTURERS
HAD PERFECTED TECHNIQUES

FOR TURNING STIFF BUFFALO HIDES
INTO SOFT LEATHER,

IDEAL FOR SHOES,
CUSHIONS, CARRIAGE TOPS,

AND THE BELTS THAT TURNED
MACHINERY IN EASTERN FACTORIES.

FRANK MAYER WAS DETERMINED
TO BE AMONG THE FIRST

TO PROFIT
FROM THE BUFFALO BOOM.

HE SANK EVERYTHING HE OWNED
INTO A HUNTING OUTFIT--

WAGONS, MULES, CAMP EQUIPMENT,
AND FIREARMS.

THEN HE HEADED OUT
ONTO THE PLAINS.

"WHEN I WENT
INTO THE BUSINESS,

"I SAT DOWN AND FIGURED

"THAT I WAS INDEED
ONE OF FORTUNE'S CHILDREN.

"JUST THINK--

"THERE WERE
20 MILLION BUFFALO,

"EACH WORTH
AT LEAST $3.00...

"60 MILLION.

"AT THE VERY OUTSIDE,

"CARTRIDGES COST
25 CENTS EACH,

"SO EVERY TIME
I FIRED ONE,

"I GOT
MY INVESTMENT BACK

"12 TIMES OVER.

"I COULD KILL
100 A DAY.

"THAT WOULD BE
$6,000 A MONTH,

"OR 3 TIMES
WHAT WAS PAID,

"IT SEEMS TO ME,

"THE PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES.

"WAS I NOT LUCKY
THAT I DISCOVERED

"THIS QUICK AND EASY
WAY TO FORTUNE?

I THOUGHT I WAS."

FRANK H. MAYER.

"WE HAD A MOTLEY ARRAY
OF NEIGHBORS.

"ON ONE SIDE,
A GERMAN WHO COULD

"SCARCE SPEAK ENGLISH,

"MARRIED TO A BOHEMIAN
WHO COULD SPEAK
LITTLE ENGLISH

"AND NO GERMAN.

"ON ANOTHER SIDE,
A FAMILY OF SWEDES

"FRESH FROM
THE OLD COUNTRY.

"ON AN ADJOINING FARM,

"A SCOTSMAN
WITH A MISSOURI WIFE.

"NEARBY,
A FAMILY FROM IOWA.

"ANOTHER FAMILY
FROM ILLINOIS.

"SOME OLD, SOME YOUNG,

"SOME ILLITERATE,
SOME WELL-EDUCATED,

YET ALL ENGAGED
IN THE SAME ENTERPRISE."

AS MORE AND MORE RAILROADS

EXPANDED INTO THE WEST,

AN INTENSE COMPETITION
BETWEEN THEM BEGAN.

SETTLERS WERE SOUGHT

WHO WOULD PROVIDE BUSINESS
FOR THEIR FREIGHT TRAINS

AND BUY THE LAND
THE RAILROADS HAD BEEN GIVEN

AS GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES.

"YOU CAN LAY TRACK
TO THE GARDEN OF EDEN,"

SAID THE HEAD
OF THE NORTHERN PACIFIC,

"BUT WHAT GOOD IS IT

IF THE ONLY INHABITANTS
ARE ADAM AND EVE?"

WESTERN STATES ALSO CONTENDED
WITH ONE ANOTHER

FOR NEW RESIDENTS.

THE HOMESTEAD ACT PROMISED
160 ACRES OF PUBLIC LAND

TO ANY PERSON WHO FILED A CLAIM,
PAID A $10 FEE,

AND AGREED TO WORK THE PROPERTY

FOR 5 YEARS.

IN THE 1870s, KANSAS GREW

BY MORE THAN HALF
A MILLION PEOPLE.

NEBRASKA'S POPULATION
QUADRUPLED.

200 SCOTTISH FAMILIES SETTLED
ON THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA BORDER.

THE HEBREW IMMIGRANT AID SOCIETY
LURED JEWS FROM EASTERN EUROPE

TO OREGON, COLORADO,
KANSAS, THE DAKOTAS.

GERMAN-RUSSIAN MENNONITES,
SWEDISH, DUTCH,

FRENCH, BOHEMIAN, IRISH,

AND NORWEGIAN FAMILIES WERE SOON
SCATTERED ACROSS THE PLAINS.

IN THE VILLAGES OF EUROPE,

YOU MIGHT BE ONLY A FEW STEPS
AWAY FROM YOUR NEIGHBORS,

CERTAINLY WITHIN
HEARING DISTANCE.

YOU COULD HEAR THE VILLAGE'S
CHURCH BELLS

RINGING ON A SUNDAY MORNING.

SUDDENLY,
HERE THEY WERE ISOLATED,

MANY MILES FROM NEIGHBORS
AND FROM VILLAGES,

WITH LONG PERIODS OF TIME
BETWEEN ANY KIND OF INTERACTION.

THEY HAD "WIND SICKNESS,"
THEY CALLED IT,

FROM THE CONSTANT BLOWING
OF THE WIND.

THEY PLANTED TREES
AROUND THEIR HOUSES

NOT SIMPLY FOR THE SHADE
OR FOR THE BEAUTY

BUT TO PROTECT THEM FROM
THE IMMENSITY OF THE LANDSCAPE.

THEY STARTED TOWNS

LIKE LINDSBORG
AND HOFFNUNGSTHAL,

NEW ALEXANDERWOHL
AND DANNEBROG--

SOME WITH
THE SAME STREET PLANS

AS THEIR OLD VILLAGES
IN EUROPE.

AND THEY PLANTED WHEAT
THEY HAD BROUGHT ALONG

FROM AS FAR AWAY
AS RUSSIA.

IT FLOURISHED AS NO OTHER
DOMESTIC CROP EVER HAD BEFORE

ON THE SEMI-ARID PLAINS

AND WOULD ONE DAY HELP
MAKE THE UNITED STATES

THE AGRICULTURAL WONDER
OF THE WORLD.

THE MEN HAD FARMED,
IN MANY CASES,

MOST OF THEIR LIVES.

THEY'D HAD TO STRUGGLE
AGAINST ROOTS AND ROCKS

AND ALL THESE THINGS
THAT MADE FARMING DIFFICULT.

THEY LOOKED AROUND THEM HERE,
AND THERE WERE THOUSANDS,

TENS OF THOUSANDS,
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF ACRES

WITHOUT A ROOT OR A ROCK.

THEY COULD PUT THEIR PLOW
IN THE GROUND

AND GO MILES AND MILES
STRAIGHT AHEAD

WITHOUT WORRYING ABOUT A HILL.

THIS WAS GRASS, GROUND, EARTH

THAT HAD NEVER BEEN TURNED
IN ALL OF HISTORY,

EXCEPT MAYBE
BY A BUFFALO'S HORN.

THEY SAID THE FIRST TIME A PLOW
WENT THROUGH THAT GROUND,

IT SOUNDED LIKE THE OPENING
OF A GIANT ZIPPER

FROM THE GRASS ROOTS TEARING
AS THE PLOW WENT THROUGH IT.

TO THEM,
THIS WAS A DREAM COME TRUE.

WE SELDOM STOP TO THINK

HOW DESPERATELY LONELY IT WAS.

ONE OF THE TALES
I LIKE THE BEST

WAS ABOUT A WOMAN
WHO LIVED OUT WEST TEXAS.

SHE SELDOM SAW ANYBODY
UP IN THE PANHANDLE.

A COWBOY CAME THROUGH ONE TIME

AND BROUGHT HER A SACK
THAT HAD 3 CHICKENS IN IT,

AND SHE COULD NOT BRING HERSELF
TO KILL THOSE CHICKENS.

SHE SAID, "YOU WILL NEVER KNOW
WHAT GOOD COMPANY THEY WERE."

THERE WAS SOME CORE
OF THAT WOMAN

THAT EMBRACED
THIS RAW COUNTRY,

BUT, YOU SEE,
IT WAS HER LOT.

HER HUSBAND GOES OFF
TO ROUND UP THE CATTLE,

OR WHATEVER ADVENTURE
THAT HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ON,

AND IT WAS HER LOT
TO KEEP THE HOMESTEAD,

TO RUN THE RANCH,
TO CARE FOR HIS FAMILY,

AND SO I THINK
OF THAT WOMAN OFTEN

WITH THOSE 3 CHICKENS, HEH,

AND I BET THEY WERE
GOOD COMPANY.

"SURELY THE HAND
OF PROVIDENCE

"MUST BE IN THIS,

"AS IT SEEMS
THIS DESERT--

"AS IT HAS BEEN
TERMED SO LONG--

"HAS BEEN
SPECIALLY RESERVED

"FOR THE POOR
OF OUR LAND,

"WHERE THEY
CAN FIND A HOME

"FOR THEMSELVES
AND FAMILIES

"AND WHERE
THEY CAN ENJOY

"THE COMPANIONSHIP
OF THEIR LOVED ONES,

"UNDISTURBED BY THOSE
THAT HAVE HERETOFORE

HELD THEM UNDER
THE MOST EXCLUSIVE CONTROL."

URIAH OBLINGER.

IN THE SUMMER OF 1872,

A UNION VETERAN
NAMED URIAH WESLEY OBLINGER

LEFT HIS RENTED FARM
IN ONWARD, INDIANA,

AND SET OUT WITH HIS BROTHER
AND TWO BROTHERS-IN-LAW

FOR NEBRASKA

TO CLAIM THE HOMESTEAD

TO WHICH HIS MILITARY SERVICE
ENTITLED HIM.

HIS WIFE MATTIE
AND INFANT DAUGHTER ELLA

WERE TO WAIT AT HOME
UNTIL HE SENT FOR THEM.

"OCTOBER 6, 1872.

"DEAR WIFE AND BABY,

"WELL, I SUPPOSE
THE FIRST QUESTION

"YOU WOULD ASK ME NOW

"WOULD BE, 'HOW DO YOU
LIKE NEBRASKA?'

"WIFE, YOU CAN SEE

"JUST AS FAR
AS YOU PLEASE HERE,

"AND ALMOST
EVERY FOOT IN SIGHT

"CAN BE PLOWED.

"THE LONGER I STAY HERE,
THE BETTER I LIKE IT.

"THERE ARE MOSTLY
YOUNG FAMILIES

"JUST STARTING IN LIFE,
THE SAME AS WE ARE,

"AND I FIND THEM
VERY GENEROUS, INDEED.

"WE'LL ALL BE
POOR HERE TOGETHER.

"I AM HUNTING A HOME
FOR US

"WHERE WE CAN
ENJOY OURSELVES

"WITHOUT BEING BOTHERED
DOING AS OTHER PEOPLE SAY.

"I CAN GET ALONG WELL ENOUGH
THROUGH THE WEEK,

"BUT WHEN SUNDAY COMES,

"I FEEL A LITTLE LONESOME
WITHOUT YOU.

"GIVE BABY A KISS--
YES, TWO OF THEM--

AND TAKE ONE
YOURSELF."

AFTER MORE
THAN A YEAR OF SEPARATION,

URIAH OBLINGER'S
LONG WAIT ENDED.

HIS WIFE MATTIE
AND DAUGHTER ELLA,

ALONG WITH A CRATE CONTAINING
ALL THEIR WORLDLY GOODS

AND ANOTHER FILLED
WITH LIVE CHICKENS,

FINALLY ARRIVED
ABOARD THE MORNING TRAIN.

URIAH TOOK THEM
TO THEIR NEW HOME,

BUILT FROM PRAIRIE SOD
WITH HIS OWN HANDS,

TO BEGIN THEIR NEW LIFE.

"DEAR MOTHER AND FATHER,

"AT HOME IN OUR HOUSE--
AND A SOD, AT THAT!

"WE MOVED IN
LAST WEDNESDAY,

"URIAH'S BIRTHDAY.

"IT IS NOT QUITE
SO CONVENIENT

"AS A NICE FRAME,

"BUT I WOULD
AS SOON LIVE IN IT

"AS THE CABINS
I HAVE LIVED IN.

"I RIPPED
OUR WAGON SHEET IN TWO,

"HAVE IT AROUND THE SIDES

"AND HAVE
SEVERAL PAPERS UP.

"IT LOOKS REAL SWELL.

"THE ONLY OBJECTION
I HAVE

IS THAT WE HAVE
NO FLOOR YET."

MATTIE OBLINGER.

"WHAT A PLEASURE
IT IS TO WORK

"ON ONE'S OWN FARM,

"FOR YOU CAN FEEL
THAT IT'S YOURS

"AND NOT
FOR SOMEONE ELSE.

"I WOULD RATHER
LIVE AS WE DO

"THAN HAVE TO RENT

AND HAVE SOMEONE
BOSSING US AND..."

"WELL, WE HAVE JUST COME IN
FROM THE TRUCK PATCH

"AND FOUND THE GOPHERS
HAD ABOUT CLEANED THE PEAS

"OFF ALL THE VINES,

"BUT OUR SQUASH VINES
ARE FULL OF BLOOM.

"WE BROUGHT IN BEETS
JUST NOW

"THAT MEASURED ONE FOOT
IN CIRCUMFERENCE,

AND POTATOES
ALMOST AS LARGE..."

"DEAR GRANDPA,

"I HAVE LEARNED
MY LETTERS

"AND CAN SPELL
"AX" AND "CAT"
AND "DOG" AND "GIRL."

"I BOTHER MA AND PA
CONSIDERABLE

"TO GET THEM
TO LEARN ME.

"I'M LEARNING 'TWINKLE,
TWINKLE, LITTLE STAR.'

LOTS OF LOVE
AND KISSES, ELLA."

"URIAH IS REPAIRING
THE MINUTES

"OF THE LAST
LITERARY SOCIETY,

"WHICH WAS HELD
LAST SATURDAY NIGHT.

"THEY HAVE SOME
BIG TIMES DEBATING.

"I GO ONCE IN A WHILE
TO HEAR THEM SPOUT.

"WE HAD RATHER A NICE TIME
OVER THE HOLIDAYS.

WE HAD A CHRISTMAS TREE
AT THE SCHOOLHOUSE..."

"WE ALL WENT
TO A CHRISTMAS TREE

"ON CHRISTMAS EVE,

"AND EACH OF US GIRLS
GOT A NEW RED DRESS

"AND A DOLL

"AND A STRING WITH CANDY
AND RAISINS ON IT.

FROM YOUR GRANDCHILD,
ELLA."

"I SUPPOSE
YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW

"IF WE HAVE BEEN
GRASSHOPPERED AGAIN.

"THEY WERE HERE
SEVERAL DAYS PRETTY THICK

"AND INJURED THE CORN
CONSIDERABLE.

"NEBRASKA WOULD HAVE HAD
A SPLENDID CROP

IF THE GRASSHOPPERS
HAD STAYED AWAY AWHILE."

MATTIE OBLINGER.

THE OBLINGERS
HAD TWO MORE DAUGHTERS--

STELLA AND MAGGIE,

BUT AFTER 6 YEARS
ON THE PRAIRIE,

THINGS HAD NOT
GOTTEN EASIER,

AND BY 1879,
MATTIE WAS PREGNANT AGAIN.

"SHE WAS CONFINED
TUESDAY EVENING ABOUT 4:00,

"AND ABOUT 8:00,
SHE TOOK A FIT VERY SUDDEN

"AND NEVER SPOKE
AFTER THE FIRST ONE.

"THE DOCTORS WERE
COMPELLED TO PERFORM
A SURGICAL OPERATION

"BY RELIEVING HER
OF THE CHILD.

"THE LORD CALLED
FOR SISTER MATTIE

"THIS EVENING
AT 4:15 O'CLOCK,

"AND SHE IS NOW RESTING
WITH THE ANGELS IN HEAVEN.

"THE CHILD IS ALSO DEAD

"AND WILL BE BURIED
WITH HER SOMETIME SUNDAY.

"URIAH SAID HE COULD NOT
STAND TO WRITE NOW.

"I DON'T KNOW
WHAT HE WILL DO YET.

"IT'S LEFT HIM
AND HIS 3 LITTLE GIRLS

IN A SAD CONDITION...
WITHOUT A MOTHER."

GILES S. THOMAS.

"DEAR FATHER AND MOTHER,

"I TRY TO BEAR
THE TROUBLE CHEERFULLY,

"THOUGH THE TASK
IS HARD AT TIMES.

I HARDLY KNOW
HOW TO MANAGE."

URIAH EVENTUALLY
TOOK THE TRAIN

BACK EAST TO MINNESOTA
AND REMARRIED,

BUT HE NEVER
GAVE UP HIS DREAM.

HE RETURNED TO THE PLAINS
TO START OVER--

NEBRASKA, THEN KANSAS,
THEN NEBRASKA AGAIN.

HE SPENT THE LAST FEW MONTHS
OF HIS LIFE

BEING CARED FOR
BY HIS DAUGHTER ELLA,

THE SAME GIRL--NOW GROWN--

HE HAD ONCE BEEN SO ANXIOUS

TO BRING OUT TO NEBRASKA
WITH HER MOTHER.

"HERE WAS ALL THESE CHEAP
LONG-HORNED STEERS

"OVERRUNNING TEXAS,

"AND HERE WAS
THE REST OF THE COUNTRY

"CRYING OUT FOR BEEF,

"AND NO RAILROADS
TO GET THEM OUT,

"SO THEY TRAILED THEM OUT,

ACROSS HUNDREDS OF MILES
OF WILD COUNTRY."

TEDDY BLUE ABBOTT.

FROM THE SOUTHERNMOST TIP
OF TEXAS,

CATTLE TRAILS POINTED NORTH--

THE SHAWNEE, THE CHISHOLM,

THE WESTERN,
THE GOODNIGHT-LOVING.

THEY ALL LED TO RAILHEADS,

WHERE THE CATTLE WERE
LOADED INTO FREIGHT CARS

BOUND FOR EASTERN MARKETS.

IN LESS THAN TWO DECADES,

6 MILLION STEERS AND COWS
WERE HERDED NORTH--

SO MANY,
ONE TRAIL DRIVER SAID,

THAT IN PLACES THE DUST
WAS KNEE-DEEP TO THE CATTLE.

THE MEN WHO BROUGHT THEM
TO THE RAILROADS

WERE GIVEN A NEW NAME--
COWBOYS.

THEY WERE A MIXED GROUP--

FORMER CONFEDERATE CAVALRYMEN

AND IMMIGRANTS WHO HAD
ONLY RECENTLY LEARNED TO RIDE.

THERE WERE INDIAN COWBOYS,
AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS...

AND MEXICAN VAQUEROS,

WHOSE ANCESTORS
HAD INTRODUCED CATTLE

TO THE WEST
CENTURIES EARLIER.

A COWBOY,
ONE WESTERNER OBSERVED,

IS "JUST A PLAIN,
BOWLEGGED HUMAN

WHO SMELLED
VERY HORSEY AT TIMES."

"IN PERSON, THE COWBOYS

"WERE MOSTLY
MEDIUM-SIZED MEN...

"QUICK AND WIRY,

"AND AS A RULE,
VERY GOOD-NATURED.

"IN FACT, IT DID NOT PAY
TO BE ANYTHING ELSE.

IN CHARACTER, THEIR LIKE
NEVER WAS OR WILL BE AGAIN."

TEDDY BLUE ABBOTT.

EDWARD C. ABBOTT

WAS BORN
IN CRANWICH, ENGLAND,

AND BROUGHT TO THE WEST
BY HIS PARENTS AS A BOY.

HOPING THE OPEN AIR
WOULD IMPROVE HIS FRAIL HEALTH,

HIS FATHER LET HIM
HELP DRIVE A HERD OF CATTLE

FROM TEXAS TO NEBRASKA
WHEN HE WAS JUST 10 YEARS OLD.

THE EXPERIENCE,
ABBOTT SAID LATER,

"MADE A COWBOY OUT OF ME.

NOTHING COULD HAVE
CHANGED ME AFTER THAT."

"MY FAMILY AND I
WENT SEPARATE WAYS,

"AND THEY STAYED SEPARATE
FOREVER AFTER.

"MY FATHER
WAS ALL FOR FARMING,

"AND ALL MY BROTHERS
TURNED OUT FARMERS
EXCEPT ONE,

"AND HE ENDED UP
THE WORST OF THE LOT--

A SHEEPMAN
AND A REPUBLICAN."

THE COWBOYS' AVERAGE AGE WAS 24.

THEY WERE PAID SO BADLY
AND WORKED SO HARD

THAT 2/3 OF THEM
MADE ONLY ONE TRAIL DRIVE

BEFORE FINDING
SOMETHING BETTER TO DO.

THEY OWNED THEIR SADDLE,
BUT NOT THE HORSE THEY RODE,

AND THEY RODE IT
DAY AND NIGHT.

"FOR A MAN
TO BE STOVE UP AT 30

"MAY SOUND STRANGE
TO SOME PEOPLE,

"BUT MANY A COWBOY
HAS BEEN SO BUNGED UP

"THAT HE'S HAD TO QUIT RIDING
THAT EARLY IN LIFE.

"MY ADVICE
TO ANY YOUNG MAN OR BOY

"IS TO STAY AT HOME
AND NOT BE A RAMBLER,

AS IT WON'T BUY YOU
ANYTHING."

JAMES EMMIT McCAULEY.

"IF A STORM COME

"AND THE CATTLE
STARTED RUNNING,

"YOU'D HEAR THAT LOW
RUMBLING NOISE
ALONG THE GROUND.

"THEN YOU'D JUMP
FOR YOUR HORSE

"AND GET OUT THERE
IN THE LEAD,

"TRYING TO HEAD THEM
AND GET THEM INTO A MILL

"BEFORE THEY SCATTERED
TO HELL AND GONE.

"IT WAS RIDING
AT A DEAD RUN IN THE DARK

"WITH CUT BANKS
AND PRAIRIE DOG HOLES
ALL AROUND YOU,

"NOT KNOWING
IF THE NEXT JUMP

WOULD LAND YOU
IN A SHALLOW GRAVE."

♪ I RIDE AN OLD PAINT ♪

♪ AND I LEAD AN OLD DAN ♪

♪ I'M GOING TO MONTANA TO THROW
THE HOULIHAN, THEY FEED... ♪

"THE SINGING WAS SUPPOSED
TO SOOTHE THE CATTLE,

"AND IT DID.

"THE TWO MEN ON GUARD
WOULD CIRCLE AROUND

"WITH THEIR HORSES
ON A WALK

"IF IT WAS A CLEAR NIGHT

"AND THE CATTLE
WAS BEDDED DOWN AND QUIET,

"AND ONE MAN WOULD SING
A VERSE OF A SONG,

"AND HIS PARTNER
ON THE OTHER SIDE
OF THE HERD

"WOULD SING ANOTHER VERSE,

"AND YOU'D GO THROUGH
A WHOLE SONG THAT WAY.

"I HAD A CRACKERJACK
OF A PARTNER IN '79.

"I'D SING,
AND HE'D ANSWER,

"AND WE'D KEEP IT UP
LIKE THAT FOR TWO HOURS,

BUT HE WAS KILLED
BY LIGHTNING."

AFTER UP TO 4 STRAIGHT MONTHS
IN THE SADDLE,

OFTEN IN THE SAME CLOTHES
EVERY DAY,

EATING EVERY MEAL
AT THE CHUCK WAGON,

DRINKING NOTHING
BUT COFFEE AND WATER,

THE COWBOY'S JOB
WAS FINALLY DONE.

HE WAS PAID FOR HIS WORK
AND TURNED LOOSE IN TOWN.

♪ NOW COME ALONG, BOYS,
AND LISTEN TO MY TALE ♪

♪ AND I'LL TELL YOU
OF MY TROUBLES ON
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL ♪

♪ COME A TI YI YIPPY YIPPY
YI YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ COME A TI YI
YIPPY YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ I STARTED UP THE TRAIL
OCTOBER 23rd ♪

♪ LEFT OLD TEXAS
WITH TWO NEW HERDS ♪

♪ COME A TI YI YIPPY YIPPY
YI YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ COME A TI YI
YIPPY YIPPY YAY ♪

"I BOUGHT SOME NEW CLOTHES
AND GOT MY PICTURE TAKEN.

"I HAD A NEW WHITE STETSON HAT
THAT I PAID $10 FOR

"AND NEW PANTS
THAT COST $12

"AND A GOOD SHIRT
AND FANCY BOOTS.

"LORD, I WAS PROUD
OF THOSE CLOTHES.

"WHEN MY SISTER SAW ME,
SHE SAID,

"'TAKE YOUR PANTS
OUT OF YOUR BOOTS

"AND PUT YOUR COAT ON.
YOU LOOK LIKE AN OUTLAW.'"

"I TOLD HER
TO GO TO HELL,

AND I NEVER DID
LIKE HER AFTER THAT."

COWBOYS WERE BIG SPENDERS,

BUT WHILE BUSINESSES PROFITED,

ALL THE COWTOWNS
SOON BECAME WILDER

THAN THEIR PERMANENT
RESIDENTS LIKED.

""ABILENE CHRONICLE."

"THE MARSHAL HAS POSTED UP
PRINTED NOTICES,

"INFORMING ALL PERSONS
THAT THE ORDINANCE

"AGAINST CARRYING FIREARMS
OR OTHER WEAPONS IN ABILENE

"WILL BE ENFORCED.

"THAT'S RIGHT.

"THERE'S NO BRAVERY
IN CARRYING REVOLVERS

IN A CIVILIZED COMMUNITY."

GUN-CONTROL ORDINANCES
WERE COMMON.

COWBOYS WHO INSISTED ON CARRYING
THEIR SIX-SHOOTERS IN TOWN

RISKED FINES
AND IMPRISONMENT.

TO MAKE SURE
THE LAWS WERE OBEYED,

SOME COWTOWNS RESORTED
TO HIRING NOTORIOUS GUNMEN--

WYATT EARP, BAT MASTERSON,
AND WILD BILL HICKOK--

TO KEEP THE PEACE.

"MORALLY, AS A CLASS,

"COWBOYS ARE FOULMOUTHED,
BLASPHEMOUS, DRUNKEN,

"LECHEROUS,
UTTERLY CORRUPT.

"USUALLY HARMLESS
ON THE PLAINS WHEN SOBER,

"THEY ARE DREADED
IN THE TOWNS,

FOR THEN LIQUOR HAS
AN ASCENDANCY OVER THEM."

"CHEYENNE DAILY LEADER."

ONE BY ONE,

THE COWTOWNS WOULD
DECLARE THEMSELVES OFF-LIMITS

TO THE TEXAS HERDS

AND THE COWBOYS
WHO CAME WITH THEM.

"THEN I WENT HOME.

"AFTER I GOT HOME,
MY FATHER SAID TO ME
ONE NIGHT,

"'YOU CAN TAKE OLD MORGAN

"AND PLOW
THE WEST RIDGE TOMORROW.'

"LIKE HELL I'D PLOW
THE WEST RIDGE,

"AND WHEN MY FATHER
WOKE UP NEXT MORNING,

TEDDY WAS GONE."

"I CROSS
THE LARAMIE PLAINS.

"I SEE IN GLIMPSES AFAR
OR TOWERING IMMEDIATELY
ABOVE ME

"THE GREAT MOUNTAINS.

"I SEE THE WIND RIVER
AND THE WASATCH MOUNTAINS.

"I SEE THE MONUMENT MOUNTAIN
AND THE EAGLE'S NEST.

"I PASS THE PROMONTORY.
I ASCEND THE NEVADAS.

"I SEE THE CLEAR WATERS
OF LAKE TAHOE.

"I SEE FORESTS
OF MAJESTIC PINES.

"MARCHING THROUGH THESE
AND AFTER ALL,

"IN DUPLICATE
SLENDER LINES,

"BRIDGING THE 3,000 OR 4,000
MILES OF LAND TRAVEL,

"TYING THE EASTERN
TO THE WESTERN SEA,

THE ROAD BETWEEN EUROPE
AND ASIA."

WALT WHITMAN.

FROM THE TIME OF COLUMBUS,

EXPLORERS HAD SEARCHED IN VAIN
FOR A PASSAGE

THAT WOULD CONNECT
THE ATLANTIC WITH THE PACIFIC.

THE CENTURIES-OLD DREAM
HAD FINALLY COME TRUE.

NO SUCH PASSAGE EXISTED,

SO THE AMERICANS
HAD BUILT ONE.

IF YOU WERE LOOKING FOR
THE DEFINITIVE SYMBOL

OF THE CONFLICT
BETWEEN THE CULTURES

THAT HAD EXISTED
IN THE AMERICAN WEST

FOR AT LEAST 10,000 YEARS
AND MAYBE LONGER,

AND THE CULTURE
THAT WAS JUST A BUILDING

EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER,

THIS CULTURE OF TECHNOLOGY,
OF COMMERCE,

OF GRASPING AFTER TOMORROW
BEFORE IT ARRIVES,

YOU COULDN'T COME UP WITH
TWO MORE POWERFUL SYMBOLS

THAN THE RAILROAD
AND THE BUFFALO,

BECAUSE WHEN THE RAILROAD
MET THE BUFFALO,

THE IRON AGE
MET THE STONE AGE...

THE MACHINE ARRIVED
IN THE GARDEN...

AND THE WEST
WAS CHANGED FOREVER.

"THERE WAS A MAN

"WHO KILLED A BUFFALO BULL
TO NO PURPOSE,

"ONLY HE WANTED
ITS BLOOD ON HIS HANDS.

"IT WAS A GREAT, OLD,
NOBLE BEAST,

AND IT WAS A LONG TIME
BLOWING ITS LIFE AWAY."

"ON THE EDGE OF THE NIGHT,

"THE PEOPLE
GATHERED THEMSELVES UP

"IN THEIR GRIEF AND SHAME.

"AWAY IN THE WEST,
THEY COULD SEE

"THE HUMP AND SPINE
OF THE HUGE BEAST

"WHICH LAY DYING
ALONG THE EDGE OF THE WORLD.

"THEY COULD SEE ITS BRIGHT BLOOD
RUN INTO THE SKY,

"WHERE IT DRIED, DARKENING,

AND WAS AT LAST FLECKED
WITH FLAKES OF LIGHT."

"THE THING WE HAD TO HAVE,
WE BUSINESSMEN WITH RIFLES,

"WAS ONE-SHOT KILLS.

"WE BASED OUR SUCCESS

"ON THE OVERWHELMING
STUPIDITY OF THE BUFFALO,

"UNQUESTIONABLY THE STUPIDEST
GAME ANIMAL IN THE WORLD.

"IF YOU WOUNDED
THE LEADER,

"THE REST OF HER HERD,
WHETHER IT WAS 3 OR 30,

WOULD GATHER AROUND HER
AND STUPIDLY MILL."

"ALL YOU HAD TO DO

WAS PICK THEM OFF
ONE BY ONE."

"I ONCE TOOK 269 HIDES
WITH 300 CARTRIDGES."

"ADVENTUROUS?

"NO MORE THAN
SHOOTING A BEEF CRITTER
IN THE BARNYARD.

"IT WAS A HARVEST.

WE WERE THE HARVESTERS."

FRANK H. MAYER.

FRANK MAYER

AND THOUSANDS OF OTHER
BUFFALO HUNTERS

SWARMED ONTO THE PLAINS.

SOME STOPPED SHOOTING
JUST LONG ENOUGH

TO COOL THEIR OVERHEATED
RIFLE BARRELS

WITH CANTEENS OF WATER.

WHEN THE WATER RAN OUT,

THEY URINATED DOWN THE BARREL
AND KEPT SHOOTING.

"UP AND DOWN THE PLAINS,
THOSE MEN RANGED.

"BEHIND THEM
CAME THE SKINNERS
WITH THEIR WAGONS.

"THEY PILED THE HIDES
AND BONES INTO THE WAGONS

"UNTIL THEY WERE FULL

"AND THEN TOOK THEIR LOADS
TO THE NEW RAILROAD STATIONS

"TO BE SHIPPED EAST
TO MARKET.

"SOMETIMES THERE WOULD BE
A PILE OF BONES

"AS HIGH AS A MAN

STRETCHING A MILE
ALONG THE RAILROAD TRACK."

OLD LADY HORSE.

32 MILLION POUNDS
OF BUFFALO BONES

MADE THEIR WAY FROM THE PLAINS
TO EASTERN FACTORIES,

WHERE THEY WERE GROUND
INTO FERTILIZER.

BUFFALO HORNS WERE TURNED INTO
BUTTONS, COMBS, KNIFE HANDLES.

HOOVES BECAME GLUE.

ALL ACROSS WESTERN KANSAS,

THE SLAUGHTER WENT ON--

PERHAPS AS MANY

AS 3 MILLION BUFFALO KILLED

IN THE TWO YEARS SINCE

THE COMING OF THE RAILROAD.

"WHERE THERE WERE MYRIADS
OF BUFFALO THE YEAR BEFORE,

"THERE WERE NOW MYRIADS
OF CARCASSES.

"THE AIR WAS FOUL
WITH A SICKENING STENCH,

"AND THE VAST PLAIN, WHICH ONLY
A SHORT TWELVEMONTH BEFORE

"TEEMED WITH ANIMAL LIFE,

WAS A DEAD, SOLITARY,
PUTRID DESERT."

COLONEL
RICHARD IRVING DODGE.

MANY AMERICANS GREW ALARMED

AT THE EXTENT
OF THE SLAUGHTER.

IN THE SPRING OF 1874,

CONGRESS PASSED A LAW
TO PROTECT THE BUFFALO,

BUT PRESIDENT ULYSSES S. GRANT
REFUSED TO SIGN IT,

AND THE KILLING CONTINUED.

HUNTERS HAD ALREADY MOVED
SOUTH OF KANSAS,

ONTO HUNTING GROUNDS RESERVED
BY TREATY FOR THE INDIANS.

THE GOVERNMENT
DID NOTHING TO STOP THEM

AND EVEN PROVIDED THE HUNTERS
WITH FREE AMMUNITION.

"YOU WHITE PEOPLE MAKE
A BIG TALK AND SOMETIMES WAR

"IF AN INDIAN KILLS
A WHITE MAN'S OX

"TO KEEP HIS WIFE
AND CHILDREN FROM STARVING.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK
MY PEOPLE OUGHT TO SAY AND DO

"WHEN THEY THEMSELVES SEE

"THEIR BUFFALO KILLED
BY YOUR RACE

WHEN YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY?"

LITTLE ROBE.

"THE INDIANS SENSED

"THAT WE WERE TAKING AWAY
THEIR BIRTHRIGHT

"AND THAT WITH EVERY BOOM
OF A BUFFALO RIFLE,

"THEIR TENURE
ON THEIR HOMELAND
BECAME WEAKENED

"AND THAT EVENTUALLY
THEY WOULD HAVE NO HOMELAND

"AND NO BUFFALO.

"SO THEY DID
WHAT YOU AND I WOULD DO

"IF OUR EXISTENCE
WERE JEOPARDIZED--

THEY FOUGHT."

IN THE SUMMER OF 1874,

THE KIOWAS, COMANCHES,
ARAPAHOS, AND SOUTHERN CHEYENNE

ROSE UP AND DROVE OUT
THE HUNTERS

AND ANY OTHER WHITES
THEY CAME ACROSS.

GENERAL PHILIP SHERIDAN
ORDERED A MASSIVE CAMPAIGN,

DEPLOYING 5 COLUMNS
OF TROOPS

TO PURSUE THE INDIANS
RELENTLESSLY

DURING THE SUMMER AND FALL,

DEPRIVING THEM OF REST
OR THE OPPORTUNITY TO HUNT.

BY THE NEXT SPRING,

VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE RESISTING
BANDS ON THE SOUTHERN PLAINS,

DESPERATE NOW FOR FOOD,

HAD BEEN DRIVEN BACK
ONTO THE RESERVATIONS.

THE BUFFALO HUNTERS
WENT RIGHT BACK TO WORK.

WITHIN A YEAR, THE HERD
ON THE SOUTHERN PLAINS

HAD VIRTUALLY DISAPPEARED.

"ONE BY ONE, WE PUT UP
OUR BUFFALO RIFLES

"AND LEFT THE RANGES,

"AND THERE SETTLED OVER THEM
A VAST QUIET.

THE BUFFALO WAS GONE."

"MAYBE WE SERVED OUR PURPOSE
IN HELPING ABOLISH THE BUFFALO.

"MAYBE IT WAS OUR RUTHLESS
HARVESTING OF HIM

"WHICH TELESCOPED
THE CONTROL OF THE INDIAN

"BY A DECADE
OR MAYBE MORE...

"OR MAYBE I AM
JUST RATIONALIZING.

"MAYBE WE WERE JUST
A GREEDY LOT

"WHO WANTED TO GET OURS,

"AND TO HELL WITH POSTERITY,
THE BUFFALO, OR ANYONE ELSE,

"JUST SO WE KEPT
OUR SCALPS ON

"AND OUR MONEY POUCHES
FILLED.

I THINK MAYBE THAT IS
THE WAY IT WAS."

FRANK H. MAYER.

IT WOULD BE HARD TO IMAGINE

ANYTHING MORE DEEPLY HURTFUL

THAN THE LOSS OF...
OF SOMETHING INEFFABLY SACRED.

ONE CAN ONLY GUESS
AND IMAGINE.

WE CAN'T, UH, WE CAN'T KNOW
WHAT THAT IS, UH, NOW.

BUT CERTAINLY CONFUSION,
FIRST OF ALL, I SUPPOSE.

"WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?

"WHY ARE YOU KILLING
THE BUFFALO?

"WE DO THAT, OF COURSE,

"BUT WE DO IT
IN ORDER TO SURVIVE,

AND WE DO IT
IN A SACRED MANNER."

BUT THIS WHOLESALE SLAUGHTER

MUST HAVE BEEN FIRST CONFUSING

AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, UM,
A DEVASTATION,

A WOUND IN THE--
IN THE HEART

THAT, UH, WE CANNOT
CONCEIVE OF NOW.

"THE BUFFALO SAW
THAT THEIR DAY WAS OVER.

"THEY COULD PROTECT
THEIR PEOPLE NO LONGER.

"SADLY, THE LAST REMNANT
OF THE GREAT HERD

"GATHERED IN COUNCIL

AND DECIDED
WHAT THEY WOULD DO."

"ONE YOUNG WOMAN
GOT UP VERY EARLY,

"AND PEERING
THROUGH THE HAZE,

"SHE SAW THE LAST
BUFFALO HERD APPEAR

LIKE IN A SPIRIT DREAM."

"STRAIGHT TO MOUNT SCOTT
THE LEADER OF THE HERD WALKED.

"BEHIND HIM CAME THE COWS
AND THEIR CALVES

"AND THE FEW YOUNG MALES
WHO HAD SURVIVED.

"AS THE WOMAN WATCHED,

"THE FACE
OF THE MOUNTAIN OPENED.

"INSIDE MOUNT SCOTT,
THE WORLD WAS GREEN AND FRESH,

"AS IT HAD BEEN
WHEN SHE WAS A SMALL GIRL.

"THE RIVERS RAN CLEAR,
NOT RED.

"INTO THIS WORLD OF BEAUTY
THE BUFFALO WALKED,

NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN."

♪ NOW, COME ALONG, BOYS,
AND LISTEN TO MY TALE ♪

♪ AND I'LL TELL YOU
OF MY TROUBLES ON
THE CHISHOLM TRAIL ♪

♪ COME A TI YI YIPPY YIPPY
YI YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ COME A TI YI
YIPPY YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ I STARTED UP THE TRAIL
OCTOBER 23rd ♪

♪ LEFT OLD TEXAS
WITH TWO NEW HERDS ♪

♪ COME A TI YI YIPPY YIPPY
YI YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ COME A TI YI
YIPPY YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ OH, A TEN-DOLLAR HORSE ♪

♪ AND A FORTY-DOLLAR SADDLE ♪

♪ I'M A-GOOD AT PUNCHING ♪

♪ THEM LONG-HORNED CATTLE ♪

♪ COME A TI YI YIPPY YIPPY
YI YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ COME A TI YI
YIPPY YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ WOKE UP ONE MORNING
ON THE CHISHOLM TRAIL ♪

♪ WITH A ROPE IN MY HAND
AND A COW BY THE TAIL ♪

♪ COME A TI YI YIPPY YIPPY
YI YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ COME A TI YI
YIPPY YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ WELL, WE ROUNDED 'EM UP,
AND WE PUT 'EM ON THE CARS ♪

♪ AND THAT WAS THE LAST
OF THE OLD TWO BARS ♪

♪ COME A TI YI YIPPY YIPPY
YI YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ COME A TI YI
YIPPY YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ THEN I WENT TO THE BOSS
FOR TO DRAW MY ROLL ♪

♪ HE HAD IT FIGURED
NINE DOLLARS IN THE HOLE ♪

♪ COME A TI YI YIPPY YIPPY
YI YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ COME A TI YI
YIPPY YIPPY YAY ♪

YEE-HOO!

♪ SO I SOLD OLD BOLLY,
AND I HUNG UP MY SADDLE ♪

♪ AND I BID FAREWELL
TO THE LONG-HORNED CATTLE ♪

♪ COME A TI YI YIPPY YIPPY
YI YIPPY YAY ♪

♪ TI YI YIPPY YIPPY YAY ♪