Hell on Wheels

Unburden yourself, my son.

I was with General Sherman on his march south.

What we did...

Evil...

Unspeakable things.

You were a soldier.

You were following orders.

No.

No, not just orders.

We opened a dark door,

and the devil stepped in.

The only way to cast out the devil

is to confess to God.

No.

No, I can't, Father.

Tell me about Meridian.

How do you know about Meridian?

A nation,

which nearly destroyed itself

by civil war between north and south,

can only be healed by the binding together

of east and west.

Mark my words, gentlemen,

it will be built.

The only question which remains is

which one of you

will join me in this mad, noble quest?

Who among you

will have to say in years hence

that he stood idly by

as this nation became an empire?

And who among you

will be able to say

he lent a hand in making manifest our destiny as a great nation?

Hear, hear.

Bravo.

It's all horse crap.

The faster I shovel, the faster they eat it up.

But it was a truly inspirational speech.

Twattle and shite, I say.

Then why am I here?

You are here to play your part.

Crédit Mobilier.

Crédit Mobilier

will be awarded all major construction contracts

on the Union Pacific Railroad.

I own it.

I'm giving you the chance to get in on the ground floor.

So, you'll be paying yourself

to build a railroad with Government subsidies.

Now that, my friend, is inspirational.

Yes, it is, but...

I can't afford these on a senator's salary.

As head of the Congressional Oversight Committee on Railroads,

I'm sure you will find a way to pay for them

over and over and over again.

Might I ask how many shares are here?

Two hundred. I think you'll find that's fair.

Four hundred sounds fairer.

Are you trying to renegotiate a bribe?

No. "Bribe" is such a dirty word.

Hmm?

Why don't you think on it, Doc, hmm?

We've got a vote before the committee next Tuesday.

Good luck with your land speculation in Nebraska.

Fifty thousand acres, bought on the cheap, hmm?

What would happen to the value of that land

if I decided to route the railroad around it?

Take the stocks, Jordan.

But I've decided to renegotiate.

One hundred shares.

"He was gun... Gunned down...

"While he... "

"Prayed. "

I was getting it.

"Prayed...

"In the... "

"Conference. "

"Prayed in the conference?"

Confessional.

Someone killed the poor bugger whilst he was confessing?

What is the world coming to?

Well,

I suppose the only consolation is that he got to heaven

that much faster.

How did you come by that conclusion?

Well, he confessed his sins.

He died in grace.

So... God just

up and punches his ticket to heaven, huh?

Well, yeah.

If that's how God goes about his business, you can keep him.

Keep God?

Do you not believe in a higher power?

Yes, sir, I wear it on my hip.

Are you a gunslinger then?

No.

I was just heading out west, looking for work on the railroad.

Yeah, so are we.

To seek our fortune, as it were.

I'm Mickey and this here's Sean.

Cullen Bohannon.

- Mickey has twelve toes. - And Sean but eight.

Individually, we're freaks.

But together, we're whole.

Next.

Name?

Cullen

Bohannon.

Railroad experience?

None.

Why should I hire you?

I'm willing to do just about anything.

Uh-huh. You and a thousand others.

I ain't got no place else to go, sir.

Save it.

Will you work the cut crew?

- Yeah. - Yeah?

What's the cut crew?

Oh, it's brutal work.

It is not for the faint of heart.

It gets hotter than a whore house on nickel night out there.

I ain't afraid of hard work.

You're a Johnny Reb, aren't you?

Yes, sir.

I could tell by that Griswold you're carrying.

It was a Griswold like that that took off my hand.

Well, we all paid a price, Mr. Bohannon,

and I imagine you bear your own scars.

I was a Copperhead before the war.

So, I bear no hard feelings

towards you graybacks. You did what you had to do.

It's the darkies I blame.

The way I see it, they owe me far more than just a hand.

Say,

did you own slaves, Mr. Bohannon?

I did.

Well, then... I imagine you know your way around a nigger.

This is Mr. Bohannon,

your walking boss.

You can address him as Boss or Boss Man or Walking Boss.

Mr. Bohannon is a former master of slaves.

Some things don't never change.

So he's up to your tricks.

He's going to work the blue out of your gums, boys.

Any coffee boilers or otherwise slack work ethic

will be dealt with severely.

Now, dig me a cut.

Jesus Christ, accept this humble servant into your heart.

Be reborn in the glory of Jesus.

Brother Joseph...

Your sins are washed away.

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa, whoa. Easy, easy, boy.

Right here.

Unload the tent.

Raise the church.

In this den of thieves,

I shall build a house of the Lord.

You putting up a church here?

What better place to convert the wicked, sister?

You better keep an eye on your flock, Reverend.

We do our own share of convertin' around here.

Why have you made my roads so

straight?

Are we not in a race with the Central Pacific?

The Central Pacific?

Those imbeciles will never make it out of Sacramento.

They're so desperate, I hear they're hiring chinks.

What I was thinking

was something more like

this.

But we're building over flat land,

why wouldn't we make it straight?

"Why wouldn't we make it straight?" he asks.

Take a closer look.

Let me elucidate.

In case you haven't heard,

this undertaking is being subsidized

by the enormous teat of the Federal Government.

This never-ending, money-gushing nipple

pays me $16,000, per mile,

yet you build my road straight!

You're fired. Get out.

I said, get out.

You look like a bright, young man.

This land...

It's bewitching.

It hasn't changed since Lewis and Clark

first saw it 60 years ago.

Do you ever wonder if our work here

will be the ruin of all of this?

Progress comes with a cost, Lily.

I just think it's so much more beautiful without people.

Don't fool yourself. There are plenty of people here.

We're entering Cheyenne territory.

You do remember our agreement?

You mean our agreement regarding my not leaving your side

while you're ill?

No.

I mean, our agreement