Montana

Montana Territory, 1879, where cattle was king.

Where the law was a gun...

...and the men who drove the great herds up from Texas...

...made the rules.

They were hard men. They had to be hard to keep alive.

The ground they took with their guns, they held with their guns.

Held it against the Indians.

Held it against cattle rustlers.

It was theirs by right of conquest. They meant to keep it.

Then came what they believed was a new enemy.

It came as a slow white tide...

...rolling north from the prairies toward the grasslands of Montana.

Sheep.

And with the sheep rode men who also lived by their gun.

They swept north slowly, steadily...

...searching for range, grass, water.

Cattlemen claimed there was death in this tide.

They said no steer could live where a sheep had grazed.

They warned the sheepmen to keep off.

Then they turned to their guns and there was war.

They rolled back the first attack and buried the sheepmen where they fell.

They buried some of their own too...

...and marked the spots for all to see.

They put up signs as a warning.

Signs that promised death to any sheepman...

...who might look at this ground and want it for his own.

And that's how it was when Morgan Lane rode north years later...

...driving his sheep into the cattle lands of Montana.

What's on yon sign, Mr. Lane?

Oh, it's sort of a friendly warning, Mac.

It says that any sheepman crossing this point will get shot on sight.

What are you gonna do? - Going across. What else can we do?

Wait a minute, laddie.

The sheep's all played out and they need water.

- The nearest river is five miles ahead. - The sheep can't go a step further today.

We'll have to bed down dry for the night.

Well, it will not be the first time.

And you call Montana the promised land.

That's what it is to me, Mac.

I promised myself I'd come back here one day...

...ever since the cattlemen drove my father off the range.

Australia, where your father took you, is a fine, fine country for sheep, Mr. Lane.

It would have been far better to have stayed there from the look of this.

Not me, Mac. This time, I'm here to stay. Well, cheer up.

Tomorrow night, you can wet your whistle at Fort Humboldt.

I'll be wetting my whistle tonight, Mr. Lane, if it's all the same to you.

- Where did you dig that up? - San Francisco.

I purchased it the day before we left.

And you mean to tell me you've had that all that time?

Aye. Come desert and mountain, rain and blizzard...

...I've treasured this bonny wee bottle in my bedroll.

And you know something, Mr. Lane?

When you laddies were freezing, the very thought of this kept me warm.

So long as you're gonna open it tonight, I better start rounding up the boys.

- Hey, fellas! - Mr. Lane, Mr. Lane. Please, Mr. Lane.

Mr. Lane, let's talk this over, friend to friend.

Laddie, there's barely enough for the two of us.

Mr. Lane, you cannot do this to me.

Let's go.

"Thou preparest a table before me...

...in the presence of mine enemies...

...thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life...

...and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. "

- Amen. Amen.

When Miguel go, he says he want you to send this Saint Christopher medal...

...back to his mother in Spain.

Well, there will be no turning back now, boys.

- That grave should tell you that. Aye.

Whoa.

Good morning, gentlemen.

No wonder Little Bo-Peeps couldn't find her sheeps, heh.

You've got them. All the sheeps in the world in one bunch.

What a fragrance. I, the...

Something not so happy here?

Well, wha...

Why the sad faces?

You know who shot up our sheep last night?

I don't know. Some... Some people don't like sheeps, but I do.

- I loves them. Uh-huh.

You familiar around these parts?

Fort Benton, yes. Helena, yes. Fort Humboldt, not so much.

- How much? - You know, it's a cow town.

Plenty of money, I hear. That's why I am going there, you know?

Gone.

Why don't you come and have a cup of coffee, uh...

..."Papa...? Papa Schultz"? Is that it?

Help him down, Mac. I wanna have a talk with him.

Come on, lads. Help him down.

Don't break it.

Sit down, Papa. Tell us a little more about Fort Humboldt.

- Here. - Here.

One man, one woman boss the range and run the town.

- The biggest cattle people in Montana. - That's interesting. Go on.

I only know a sheepman in Fort Humboldt.

It's bad medicine.

You're not implying that they don't exactly care for sheepmen around here?

- Mm-hm. Only to shoot at. - Uh-huh. How they feel about peddlers?

If I don't sell sheep dip for sale, I'm welcome. I hope.

You know something, Mac? I got great news for Papa.

Good. - I'm riding into Fort Humboldt with you.

Good. - As your partner.

- Partner? - Uh-huh. Mac.

Throw a little grub into my new partner. I'll see you in a few minutes.

- I am partner with sheepmen? - Just for the looks of it.

And I get shot like your sheeps last night just for the looks of it?

Aye, maybe. I'll not deny it.

But it's for the good of your adopted country.

What better could a man ask?

I could die in a bed.

You'll die here if you give us an argument.

If I don't take him with me, I die here. If I do take him, I die there.

- Woe is me. - Shame on you, man. I'll hear no more.

Back to your wagon now.

There's a possibility we might purchase something.

But just a possibility.

Just a possibility. You, all right, let's go.

I, the Papa Schultz, have some bargains, bargains for the people.

Is open for bargains. Bargain in shirts. Bargain in goods.

Bargain that good. Bargain shirt good.

- Look this shirt. What with you? No.

No. I will tell you what.

The hat, you don't want, the shirt, you don't want.

The boots, you don't want. The fine imported music box, you don't want.

But the money in your pockets, you do want.

Mr. Papa Schultz...

...I keep telling you I don't want to buy the boots, the shirt or anything else.

- I only wanna buy this bird. - Name your price for the bird.

I let him go for $2 and I lose $2. No.

Let him go for $ 1 and you'll only lose $ 1.

That's better. All right, $ 1.

I would starve in Scotland.

Well, you have the bird. Take care of the bird.

Very fine bird, a brand-new bird.

Jeannie, you're gonna be a good girl, aren't you...

...and take care of all the strays while I'm gone, hmm?

Are you, hmm?

Watch the strays, now.

- Let's go, partner. - Partner.

Mac, be sure you keep the sheep well-bunched.

- Don't let anybody on horseback near. - All right, Mr. Lane.

Come on, Papa. Hurry up. Hurry up.

Sheepmen don't talk much, no?

Hmm? No.

Peddlers talk too much, yes?

Yup.

- Then I keep quiet. - Good.

You have no pistol gun?

- No what? - You don't carry a boom-boom? No?

No. I don't like them. They make me nervous.

Uh-huh.

You are going to shoot the murderer who killed your men?

Mm-hm. I see. Later, later.

You've got another business before?

Mm-hm.

You're kind of curious, aren't you, Papa?

So am I. I wanna find out what's wrong with sheep.

I think sheep are pretty important in the world.

I'd like to know why a few cattle barons in Montana...

...think they can keep sheep off the open range.

Hurry, hurry, hurry.

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen...

...and listen to one of the most amazing discoveries...

...of the medical world.

- None other than Dr. Otto Schwartz's... - Schultz. Schultz.

Dr. Schultz's amazing "Tiger-Marrow Fat. "

Extracted from the wild beast in its native lair.

And, as the doctor will testify, it cures every human ailment.

It cures... "Fallen arches"?

"Fallen arches, flat feet, warts, corns, bunions.

And it also cleans and tightens loose teeth. "

Remember, Reeves, have the boys back at the ranch at 4:00.

- And try to stay out of trouble. We'll do our best.

Who are they? They act like they own the town.

They do, and most of the range around here.

That's Maria Singleton and Rod Ackroyd.

Come on, sheriff.

Oh, Dan, he went down to the mill

To get some corn to have his fill

The miller swore by the point of his knife

He never saw such a man in his life

So

Get out the way, old Dan Tucker

Get out the way, old Dan Tucker You're too late to come to supper

- Supper - Supper

- Supper - Supper

- Those boys are pretty good, aren't they? - Yeah, very good.

Go on, Reeves, tell about that fight you had.

Well, sheriff, I tell you...

...you should have seen them sheepherders run.

All but one of them.

It sure breaks my heart every time I hear of a sheepherder getting killed.

Well, I don't like shooting, but this is cattle country.

Maybe it will learn them they ain't wanted here.

- Thanks for the drink, Slim. - You're welcome, sheriff.

Hello, stranger. You're new here, ain't you?

Oh, sort of, sheriff. But I get acquainted fast.

- Well, be sure you meet the right people. - Oh, sure.

That goes for both of us.

- Give me some whiskey, will you? What kind?