Tomahawk Page #4

They won't let you ride

outside the fort.

Monahseetah.

Come here dear.

I want you to go the Commissary.

Bring this food from the store.

Do you understand?

Yes.

Bring food from store.

That's right.

I'd never have the patience

to teach her English.

And I'd never feel safe.

I bless the Christian impulse

I had to take her in to my home.

She's really a very sweet girl.

I only wish someone could adopt her

and see to her schooling.

But isn't she that

Mr. Bridger's squaw?

Or... wife I guess I should say.

Rubbish, she's no such thing.

- You ain't aiming to ride outside?

- No, just around the parade ground.

Shouldn't you wait until night?

Dark don't mean nothing to Sioux.

Even the kids are half bloodhound.

Besides I can make 20 miles by night.

If they sent those breech loaders,

every hour counts.

- Goodbye Colonel.

- Goodbye.

- Beck.

- What?

If you're not back tomorrow

I'll be out looking for you.

You know Jim, I haven't

looked at a calendar in months,

but I got a feeling

tomorrow'll be an awful day.

Jim,

what is it between you

and Lt. Dancy?

You went after him like a mink

going after a chicken.

I can't say that I care for him.

I think it goes deeper than that.

You were gonna turn down the job

until you saw Dancy.

Alright Jim, I won't press you.

It's your business as long as

there's no trouble on the post

but there are a few questions

I don't dare let die.

In the case of a showdown,

which side are you on?

You mean yours or Red Cloud's?

I mean your country's

or it's enemy's?

This is Red Cloud's country

and yours and mine.

It takes facts to make a word

like enemy real.

- Too late to argue that.

- Too late for you, but not for me.

I've tried to do the job

you hired me to do and...

I'm a fight. If it comes,

you can't be on both sides.

I'll cross that bridge

when I have to.

I'll promise you one thing though

when I decide you'll

be the first to know.

Present sabers!

Let's go after them sir.

We're all saddled up.

Don't be a fool. That's what

they want. It's an ambush.

Open up!

Don't open that gate.

Nobody's to leave the fort.

Get that man to the hospital.

Alright. Detail dismissed!

Open up!

- Nobody is to leave the post.

- Open up. I'm not in this army.

- But the Colonel's orders...

- Get that gate open!

Get off! Get off and hurry up!

Let's hope they track that horse

and not us.

Come on, get down in here

and keep quiet.

If we shake those Sioux

we can start hiking.

If we're lucky enough

to shake them.

We'll wait here a while.

- I'm very grateful to you for...

- Forget it.

I owe you a lot. You saved Dan

and mine.

I said forget it.

Don't you know this is no country

to go pleasure riding in?

This isn't like your big cities.

A lot of trouble because of you.

Because I had to kill

that young brave.

Not knowing what side you're on

must make things complicated.

In fact it does.

Anyway it's Monahseetah

that saved your life.

She saw you riding out like a fool

and saw the war party riding

the same way and told me.

Then please thank your wife for me.

My what?

Your wife. What do you call her?

Monahseetah.

She's not my wife.

- But I was told that she...

- You talk to the wrong people.

There's some at the fort that

could have told you different.

I imagine the people you talk to

call me a sqaw man, don't they?

- Yes.

- I am a sqaw man.

My wife is dead.

I'll tell you a story to help

you pass the time.

There was a Cheyenne Chief,

Black Kettle, a great chief.

A few years back he signed a treaty

with the American government.

He put an American flag on his tipi

to show he meant to keep it

and the US government kept it.

Then four years ago,

a bunch of drifting, no good scum

god up what they called

the Colorado volunteers.

They were very brave,

big heroes.

They were gonna make the West

safe for the white man.

Their leader was a sanctimonious,

blood-thirsty, so-called preacher

named Chivington.

I've heard of him somewhere.

The only good thing you could

have heard is that he's dead.

Well this...

Chivington and his volunteers

rode out to Black Kettle's village

early one morning,

and had themselves a little fun.

More than 200 of them charged down

on a sleeping Indian village.

They rousted the people out and then

they shot and hacked and killed

until they'd had enough fun.

Men, women, old people

and kids.

Monahseetah was Black Kettle's

youngest daughter.

She saw her mother and father shot,

her sister cut down with a saber

along with a baby she was holding.

Her sister's name was Nantah,

and Nantah was my wife.

And the...

The baby was my son.

I was away trapping.

When I came home I buried them

and then I started hunting

the butcher who did it.

I'm sorry.

You're sorry the way you'd be

if I told you my pet dog was killed,

for me but not for her.

She was only an Indian.

Come on.

Let's start hiking.

It's Bridger and Miss Madden.

Miss Madden's horse

came back hours ago.

Then those drums started up.

The Colonel was going to send out

a scouting party at daybreak.

Maybe there's no use in my saying so

but I'm not like you think I am.

Don't bother yourself over

what I think.

You're as blind in your way

as the others are in theirs.

Julie!

Julie, we were heartsick.

I was worried about you Jim.

What about those drums?

That Sioux war party caught up

with Miss Madden.

I tried to get her without a fight

but I had to kill one of them.

I killed Lone Elk.

He was Red Cloud's favorite son.

My leave starts in ten days

so I might ride with you to

Virginia City.

Looks more like you'll spend

your leave here in the fort.

We'll have our show down with

Red Cloud before the week's out.

It'll be over as soon as it starts,

now that Bridger lit the fuse.

The Colonel is not happy

about it.

Carrington's been ducking a fight

ever since we got out here.

He's a good officer but too

squeamish for an Indian campaign.

They're asking for it.

He's up against the Indians.

He's too old to learn new tricks.

Like you learned

from Chivington?

I thought all my chatter had gone

in one of your lovely ears and

right out the other.

Julie,

- what's the matter?

- I'm tired.

- I'll see you to the wagon.

- No, don't!

Don't you touch me.

I'm sorry.

You better go to bed.

You took an awful sudden fancy

for sewing Julie?

It keeps me from hearing

those drums.

How long have they been going now?

About four days I reckon.

- It didn't get said, did it?

- What?

You asked me how a girl says

she's sorry.

No, it didn't get said.

And now there's something else

I can't say.

You want to tell me?

I know what you'd tell me

because you're a man.

But this is something

that might cause a killing.

Well, then talk to a woman.

- Where are you going?

- To fetch firewood from the pinery.

I thought nobody was supposed

to go outside the fort.

We got to have firewood.

We got to cook.

Martha.

Mar...

Monahseetah...

I wish I could tell you.

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