We could be snowed in inside of five or six hours, and lord only knows for how long. That means youre gonna have to get on that horse of youou and go to work. I know theres some passes through these mountains that other trains have used, might save us three e four days. Are you telling me about the passes . Yes, im telling you. Now wake up, will you . All right, ill get on my hohoe just as soon as ive had some breakfast. Well, boy, i dont like to rush you, but if you dont find the right pass for us, there may be a lot of people starting to freeze to death. That, i assume, means you want me to eat on the trail. shouting indistinct chatter snoring not being a doctor, i cant give an expert opinion, but id say hes n n so much hurt, just halfstarved. Well, i cant figure out what he was doing up there in the mountains. You know, theres some kaw indians up here a little ways. He might have been captured and maybe escaped, huh . Wellllthen, whyd he try to jump me . Maybe he doesnt like your looks. I know you find that hard to believe, but it is possible. Mmhmm. Take it easy. You got nothing to worry about. Youre among friends. Easy, fella. Back. Youre all right. Youre all right. Youre all right. Youre among friends, remember . The man told youou can you tell us your n ne . Your name . My name . Yes. My namam. My name. Its. I dont know. Do you remember what happened to you . Do you remember where youre from . I dont know. I dont know easy, now, easy. Take it easy. labored breathing whats the matter . Hey major. I fixed him up a good, thick broth. Well, thats fine. Ill get a pot. Dont its blazing hot hey, fella, listen, you cant t ink that that fast itll kill you poor man rest of it ow god now, wait a minute wait a minute he may be out of his mind, but theres sure nothing wrong with his teeth. Poor devil. Well, id better get back out on the trail. Major make sure you scout that canyon, will you . Weve already lost a day. No whats wrong . You cant go there you cant t there he cant he he cant go there he cant go there he cant sit down, sit down, sit down. Get out of here, ellen. Sit down, now, youre all right. Listen to me, youre all right, youre all right. You hear me . Easy. Thats the stuff. Easy. I want this train totoe ready to roll the minute mccullough gets back here. Now, pass it. Did you have any luck . Yeah, i found a pass that we can get through, i think. Good its been usus before by a wagon train. Then we can get rolling. Wait a minute. I think youd better come and look at it. You just come and look at it. Charlie, get my horse. Yes, sir. There it is. Well, this is what he didnt want you to see. There wasnt any sign of life, huh . No. Well, this is it. Real purdy, aint it . Hey, heres something. What . No. Nothing. Heres something. The mcclintock party independence, missouri, to sacramento, california. The mcclintock party . You know how long theyve been looking for that outfit . They disappeared about a year ago, didnt they . Yep. They left salt lake in the fall. Nobody heard of em since. Oh, lord. What am i ever gonna tell that girl . Hmm . Emersons daughter. Young fella she was gonna marry was with that outfit. Yeah, i guess so. Wonder how he did it. What . I wonder how he managed to survive. Lord only knows. Lets get out of here. Fella try to remember . The mcclintock wagon train look at this, will you . Look at it doesnt that mean anything to you . Just like talking to a stone wall. Major, my father said you found the mcclintock wagon train. Thats right, ellen, we did. Youre sure its not some mistake . It isnt some other one . No mistake. About someone . Honey, the man doesnt even know his own name. But i must talk to him it wont do you any good. Ive got to know about jim please. Go ahead. You must help me, please. Please try to understand what im saying. If you were with the mcclintock wagon train, james norton. Yes . Yes . Please try. Hes 24, and he has a big, booming laugh that i swear you can hear for five miles. Please listen. Hes a big man, with the wildest shock of red hair that anyone ever did see. Ld apart if hed a mind to. But as strong as he is, thats how gentle he is. If you were with that wagon train, you must have known him i. I dont remember. But you must ellen. Ellen, dear, please. Please, ellen, please. weeping major. weeping . You dont suppose anyone else was left alive . None. weeping major major, wake up come on, wake up whats the matter . What do you want . Well, hes gone whos gone . Well, why the devil would he leave . I went out to check the horses and saw him ride off. Did you see which way he headed . Yeah, he went north. North, huh . Yeah. Well, i bet i know where he went. You better get flint and my horses saddled. Come on, charlie, give me a hand. Always something. Hey, wait a minute no, no give it to me here, here, here you cant read it come here ive got to burn it you cant read it ive got to burn it will you listen to me give it to me ive got the diary of william capehart. Capehart . Yeah. I intend to keep a daybyday account of my journey from independence, missouri, to sacramento, which. May be of interest hey join me in california. Its a record of the whole trip. February 10th. I wonder why the devil he was trying to burn it. Well, come on, weve got to get this fella out of here. He blew it. Ill give you a hand. Come on, come on. Get up, there. All right, fella, you can get down now. No. Listen, i told you i was sorry i had to hit you. Now, nobodys gonna bother you here. Come on, get down. Take him to the wagon, bill. Flint, youd better get yourself some coffee and something to eat and get back on the job. I want to get out of here today say, what was he doing when you found him . He was trying to burn this an account of another wagon train. No, i just have time for some coffee. May i look at the diary . I dont think youd find it very pleasant reading. Please. It might mention jim. She has a right to look at it if she wants to, flint. Please. Youre her father. Thank you. Reckon wed all like to know whats inside there. Ellen, dont read any more of that. It wont do any good i want you to hear some of this you should all listen december 9th. Still it snows. Will it ever stop . Two more children died today joan higgin, aged 8, and the lausen baby, who was not one year old. Buried them in the snow. Everyone but George Danton attended services. Some of the people saying that upon returning from burial that some of their rations were missing. Though this looks bad for danton, i cannot believe any human being would do such a thing. God rest the two little children. They are finally at peace. Christmas day. Everyone is ill, and growing weaker, except George Danton, who somehow remains in good health, despite our hardships. Fast losing all hope. Mr. Marsh and helen blake died during the night of starvation. We are reduced to boiling hides in snow water until they melt into a sort of glue. Despite its dreadful taste, no one refused a portion no one but danton, who continues to thrive, though how i do not know. Everything that can be used has been eaten all our animals, our dogs, even field mice. Not even hides are left. Four of us remain alive. Very weak. Can hardly write. Danton alone remains strong and well. He has the last of the ammunition. Helen. Let me alone. We know who you are and what youve done. We know that youre George Danton filled with timber. I figure with two days of hard work, we ought to be able to hack our way through. Once through there, this is a meadow which goes into rolling hills, and we pick up major. Hey, fella, you better get back in that wagon. My name is George Danton. Yeah, i know. Thats why im telling you, get back in the wagon. How long do you think itll take to clear that place out . Well, like i said, two days. Thats fine here at salem point, we pick up the immigrant road. Yeah, but you tell me how tough is it right down in here where you said wed have to hack our way through . I said two days of hard work, but i think we can make it. Well, thats all right man hey major danton danton, put that razor down and get in the wagon i never wore a beard. Even during the worst days, world a favor and cut your throat onlookers gasp give me that razor, danton. I havent finished with it. All right, ill wait. You go ahead and finish shaving, then you get in the wagon like i told you. He dont look no different than anybody else. Woman softly hes different. onlookers murmuring what have they got against me . Man you should know they sure didnt look like heroes. And they didnt like it when i said i wasnt gonna die and i didnt im here, alive, with food in my belly dont boast about it, danton you should be ashamed now get back in that wagon. Folks, our our scout here has finally gotten around to earning his pay, so we can get on the move again. Plan to start hitching up right away, and we can be on the road inside an hour. Emerson major, what about danton . When he stole food for himself, quick. Yes, indeed man whats more humane . Well let the authorities take care of danton. Why wait that long . What would you suggest, mr. Harris . Ive got some highgrade rope in my wagon. Like i said, inside of an hour, well be on the trail. murmuring i dont like people looking at me like that. Just like those in the other wagon train. It makes me sick you know what those fine people in the mcclintock party tried to do . They tried to kill me im telling you, they tried to kill me i wonder why. You dont believe they tried to kill me . Well, let me tell you hows it going out there . All right, i guess. Lets go. Dont stop for anything all right. Charlie, no matter what, keep em moving. Dont stop at this camp for anything. Dont let that fella stick his head out of that canvas. Right. Man hold it ho ho hold it here. Major hold up hold up we got trouble how the devil did this happen, bill . They hit that rock back there. Get off your horses and give us a hand here, will ya . Bill, you go up to wentworths wagon and borrow his axle. Hes got a spare. Right. Mr. Wentworth wed like to borrow that extra axle of yours. Help yourself. Thank you. Bill get him good work, bill. I guess id better. Major . Yeah . How much longer will it take . Were almost finished now. This is killing ellen. Look at her why the devil didnt you keep her in the wagon . Believe me, i tried. Well, keep at it, bill. Right. Look, mama. Look what i found. Can i keep it . No, chris. Go sit by the fire, darling. It wouldnt be so awful if. If i knew which one was jimmy. But not even to know that hes here. Not even to know where to look i know, honey. I know. Come on. Pretty good, isnt it . Supplying Free Transportation to the skunk who helped do all this i cant stand it and i cant stand looking at that wagon, knowing hes inside, safe i hate him i hate him major, you wouldnt say i was a hothead like our friend harris here. I dont think so, no. Why . Well, i think we should settle with danton here and now, right where it happened. This is a wagon train, mr. Wentworth, not a jungle. Ny different countries, different faiths, many different backgrounds. So . So the basic laws of humanity should apply to us just as much as they do to any community. Man thats right man 2 hes right why dont you get to the point, wentworth . The point is that civilized people have always had the right to deal with criminals like danton forget ellen, major. Remember some of the things capehart wrote in that diary. He watched sick men starve to death, and heard them beg for the food that he had stolen, and that meant nothing to him elonged to children, and he stood there and watched those children die lets get him onlookers shouting approval major hold it indistinct shouting stand back there, will ya . Im gonna tell you once, and once is all im gonna tell you my men and me have got guns. Id hate to use em on you. If you go in there and try to get danton, youll force me to. We can deal with danton, but well do it as wentworth says, as civilized men. The first thing we do is see that he gets a fair hearing. Isnt capeharts diary enough . As one piece of evidence, yes. But that diarys only one mans word. There may be other things around here thatll tell us a different story. How can that be . i dont know. But we can find out. Well sift through everything in this whole camp find any books, any letters, anything thatll tell us anything about danton, for him or against him. Is that fair enough . Yes. All right, then. Ke we planned. We cant. Well give ourselves two or three days. Itll take that much, at least, to do it right. Two or three days is liable to cost most of the people in the wagon train their lives. Major flints right. You might just as well face it. And how do you figure that . Charlie. Yes, sir. Go see what that thermometer says. What does it read, charlie . Mercury stands right at 38, major. onlookers murmuring that shouldnt surprise you folks too much. The coffee pots have been doing a real good business. Take a look at that sky up there. In case you dont know it, those are snow clouds. How can it snow very hard in october . I dont know. According to the almanac, it cant. But do you want to believe the almanac, or do you want to believe that ice you found in your Water Barrels this morning . Its easy standing around here in our warm clothes with our bellies full and all of our wagons full of good supplies, everything we need, the very best of everything meat, flour, dried fruit, everything. Its real easy for us to talk about a man like danton, but if we get caught in the snow, maybe we wont be so quick to judge when our food is gone and weve eaten all our livestock, and were down to where were boiling the hides and even the harness, and then we go out looking for field mice to eat then we really begin to starve then its a question of whether you stay alive or whether you die in the snow then who knows . Maybe well find a danton or two in our own outfit. N you, mr. Emerson . Nobody can be sure just where a mans breaking point is, not until that point is reached. We cant stay here. We cant be trapped in the snow mary, be quiet. Ive got two babies to worry about. Doesnt that mean anything . Isnt that supposed to count . What about our kids . Are we supposed to take a chance on them dying so that danton can have what you call a fair trial . Man i agree with him thats a good point that what you said, wentworth . That doesnt mean we should jeopardize the lives of the entire train. I couldnt agree more. So why dont we do like i said take him with us and turn him over to the proper authorities. Ill guarantee he wont get away again. Emerson wentworth, i well, ii dont want it on my shoulders, i mean, if staying here is gonna get us into trouble. I know ellen feels the same way about it. All right, then, lets here no more about it we pull out at daybreak why dont you calm down, harris. Major hold it, boys. Let him alone, let him alone. gunshot danton onlookers murmuring man hed have no reason to. r yeah. Wonder where he got this gun . I dont know, but ill guarantee im gonna find out. Charlie, get the medical kit. Hey, wait a minute. Wentworth told me that he had some newfangled instruments. Why dont you go get him, ask him to come down here and give us a hand. All right. Is he dead . Not yet. Mr. Wentworth, the major wants to see you right away. Why . Youre the closest thing to a doctor we have. This mans pretty bad off. But im not a doctor. And therefore not bound by any of the laws of medicine. But this man could die. That man is responsible for a lot of other people dying. Mccullough wentworth, whats keeping you . Mr. Wentworth says the answer is no. Oh . Rest of you agree with that, do you . Man you bet we do well, this sunday when your prayer books are open and your voices are raised in sacred hymns, the good book says, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Maybe you know more about that than i do, but it seems to me it also says, vengeance is mine, so saith the lord. Major, hes bleedin again. Flint, go get wentworths medical kit, will you . Mr. Mccullough, those supplies are my property. Mccullough, in case any of these civilized citizens try to stop you, youve got a gun. Use it. I dont need a gun. Wait. But well take this matter up again later, major. Flint. Yeah . Is there some stuff in there called collodion . Yeah, spirits of collodion. Douse some of it on some cotton, will you, and give it to me. Im for now. Keep that pressed tight for me, will you . I beg all to. Forgive me. He left this note. Oh . I beg all to forgive me. George danton. I sure dont like the way hes breathing. Hes probably doing the best he can, charlie. Guess he is. Major, come here a minute. Whats the matter . He cant be George Danton. Look. Look at the handwriting. What . Same in the diary as it is here in the note. Let me see that. See the names . By golly, youre right. This is mr. William capehart. Then whyd he say he was danton . Probably because we told him he was we did. Hes out of his head. Yeah, do that, will you . Its true. But how could it be . The handwritings the same. He is capehart. What if we had brought him out of that wagon . And used some of harris free rope . Yeah, that would have been pretty, wouldnt it . What we almost did. Sometimes i wonder if god doesnt get just a little tired of forgivin. Well . The bleedings stopped, but hes still unconscious. Better sit down, major. Thanks, bill. And whyd he try to kill himself . I dont know. And howd he stay alive until we found him . Harris, i cant give you any neat little answers all wrapped up like a package. I dont know. Anybody knows that when the snow melts that theres berries to eat, or the bark of a tree, or grass. Maybe he was able to hit a rabbit in the head with a rock. Who knows . I dont. And maybe the will to live had something to do with it. Des, he wasnt much alive when we found him, anyhow. Even if he were danton, what right did we have to be judge, jury, and hangman . You didnt talk that way before. None of us talked that way before. Thank you. Our problems with the man inside arent finished. What do you mean . Better tell them, major. Well, folks. I usually make the decisions on my train, i think you should make this one. I want you to realize that when a man makes a decision, hes got to accept the responsibility for that decision. So heres your problem if we pull out of here tomorrow morning like we planned, theres every chance in the world that that man in that wagon will start to bleed again. If he starts to bleed, hes all through. On the other hand, if we stay here and we get snowed in, well, just look around you. You can see what might happen. Ion for you people. Youre going to have to make it yourself. If you say pull out in the morning, we pull out. Sometimes god doesnt forgive and let it go at that. Well, whats it gonna be . An bleeding to death . You know, bill, a man can just drive himself batty trying to figure people out. But dont ask me what id have said if he was really danton major youre all right. What happened . You shot yourself. But youre gonna be all right. Where am i . Who are you . Im seth adams. But im. With the mcclintock party. Were snowbound. Were in desperate trouble. Were starving, in need of food no. Thats wrong. Its too late for food. Did some woman. Tell me that i was. George danton. Or was that a dream . We know youre not George Danton. Not danton . I didnt know who i was. I only knew that id. Done something wrong. I had to keep everybody away from the place. And when she said that i was danton. I told myself it must be true. And thats why i wanted to kill myself. Youre not danton. Youre william capehart. William. Capehart . Capehart. You wrote this diary. You remember that . Diary . I tried to burn it. I remember now. What i did. It never stopped snowing. Never. We grew hungry and sick. Began dying. Every day. One, two, or three, yea, though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i shall fear no evil, for thou art with me. watch ticking is he all right . Hes all right. Finally, there were just the three of us james norton, myself, and George Danton. Danton was. Waiting for us to die. But somehow i dont know we hung on. Day after day he watched and waited. He knew he couldnt leave anyone alive who might tell what hed done, and we were so weak, with a single kick of his boot, he could have killed us. And then, one night, he said. He said. If youre alive when i wake up in the morning, you wont be alive for long. Now, danton was asleep, and jim and i knew that hed kill us in the morning, and we were too weak to do anything about it. Jim was almost dead. He couldnt talk anymore, but thinking of him somehow living through the night and danton killing him no. I had a knife, and in the dark, i crawled to where danton was sleeping. My heart was pounding. I was close to him. Then he groaned in his sleep. He was waking up. Hed see me with the knife it was all right. He was still sleeping. I reached up. I raised the knife over the whiteness of his throat, and then. I couldnt do it. I couldnt kill. But i must. Kill him, kill him, kill him. He moved again. He was waking up. Do it now. I plunged the knife down. Thats the last thing i. Remembered. You know, young lady, youre taking on quite a bit of work for yourself. Our wagon is roomier than yours. Oh . Helen, dont try to fool me. Well. I want to take care of him. Maybe that way i wont feel so ashamed. Well, honey, theres nothing wrong with shame. You know, its funny the only animal in the whole world that feels shame is the human animal. Now, you go on, take care of your patient. S, major. Come on, charlie, lets get ready to roll. All right, you folks, get loaded up. Were gonna roll right away. Hurry up, now. Well, whats that silly grin on your face for . You know, major, when i first met you, well, to put it very frank, i didnt think you were any too bright. Oh but its amazing what a couple of years with me has done for you. Well well, boy, i just want you to know . Roll along . . Wagon train . . Rolling over prairie where there aint no grass . . Rolling over mountains where there aint no pass . . Sitting on a board, eyeing the weather . . Praying to the lord we Stay Together . . Side by side on the wagon train . . . Picking up a passenger in every town . . Wondering if hes ever gonna shoot you down . . Looking for a pal, aint it a pity . . Looking for a gal, neednt be pretty . . If shell ride on the wagon train . . Wagon ho . . Gotta keep em on the run . . Time to go . . And follow the sun . . Roll along . . Wagon train . . Never had a cabin near a general store . . Only had a wagon and a. 44 . . Sitting on a board, eyeing the weather . . Praying to the lord we Stay Together . . Side by side . [music] excuse me. You see him before he sees you. You sure you wont change your mind, daniel, about coming along . It promises to be an interesting hunt. Oh, no, mingo. Its been three days since i sat dinner table. If i dont get there soon they will be feeding me at the back door like im a stranger. I suppose since you are the chief of the cherokee you will get the first shot. I want you to do me a favor. Drop that bear before mingo does because if you dont i will never hear the last of it. I intend to, daniel. Looks like its big enough to feed your whole tribe for the winter. Plenty of meat. Good luck. Judging from the way its