The American West - First Season

Narrator: Previously on "The American West"...

The country is rapidly settling the frontier,

but with a growing population

comes lawless boomtowns...

- where crime runs rampant. - Cheater, huh?

Narrator: In the town of Dodge City,

the new Deputy Marshal Wyatt Earp

is making use of his natural ability

to keep the peace in the chaotic West.

Meanwhile, in the territory of New Mexico,

a new breed of outlaw is on the rise.

After years on his own, Billy the Kid

finally finds a place to belong

when he's hired by cattle rancher John Tunstall.

But when Tunstall is murdered over a business dispute,

Billy loses the only father figure he's ever known...

and vows to take down everyone involved,

setting the stage for a new war in the West.

In Lincoln County, New Mexico,

Billy the Kid is determined to avenge the murder

of his friend and mentor, John Tunstall.

Kathleen Chamberlain: Billy was devastated when Tunstall was killed.

He got together with his friends,

and the more they talked about it,

the more angry they became.

Narrator: Tunstall's death is orchestrated by

a corrupt group of wealthy businessmen

known as "the House."

The House has a hold on everything in Lincoln County,

including the law.

With no one to turn to for justice,

Billy and a gang of local citizens band together

to take the law into their own hands,

forming a vigilante group

known as "the Regulators."

Mark Lee Gardner: Billy and those loyal to Tunstall

are going after every man that was in that posse.

Billy is going to fulfill

his vendetta before he dies.

Narrator: At the top of their hit list...

The man responsible for the murder of Tunstall,

Sheriff William J. Brady.

Gardner: Sheriff Brady is working for the House.

Brady, to Billy, is just as culpable

as any of those men that murdered his friend.

Here he comes.

Billy: It sure is nice to see you again...

Sheriff.

Narrator: On April 1, 1878,

Billy the Kid kills a member of the House

in cold blood.

Paul Hutton: He kills...

but he's a killer for justice...

His sense of "Gunsmoke" justice,

because the law is corrupt,

and the law was totally, irrevocably corrupt

in territorial New Mexico.

Narrator: For Billy, the killing of Sheriff Brady

is just the beginning.

Hutton: Now Billy is an outlaw.

That really is the point of no return.

Narrator: Over the span of a month and a half,

Billy and his gang kill five more men

involved in Tunstall's death.

Kiefer Sutherland: Billy the Kid found the one thing that he was good at,

which was killing other people,

and he got a lot of attention for it and he embraced it.

There's not a lot of characters in the West

as aggressive as that.

Narrator: Word of the violence spreads quickly

through the surrounding counties.

Now the small-time cattle thief

has become a feared, cold-blooded murderer.

Gardner: When you kill the man that represents law and order,

that definitely makes the newspapers.

Even if Sheriff Brady is corrupt,

he's still a sheriff.

He's still the elected sheriff of Lincoln County.

Narrator: Twelve hundred miles away, another outlaw

who's become a hero for the Confederate cause

remains in hiding.

In the years since their disastrous bank robbery

in Minnesota,

Jesse James and his brother Frank

have been keeping a low profile.

And now two of America's most famous outlaws

live under new identities

working as farmers.

Gardner: Jesse and Frank

hide out in Tennessee for a while

and, you know, "Maybe this is the time

that we kinda give up this crazy stuff

and let's see if we can make a living,

and maybe they'll leave us alone."

Wanna see Dada?

Gardner: They both have wives. Jesse had two children.

When they're home, they're good family men,

when they're not at home, they're not very good citizens.

Narrator: But stories of the new breed of outlaws

wreaking havoc in the West

are now making news nationwide.

And Jesse James, the most notorious criminal of his time,

is growing restless.

They're gonna be pullin' all the troops out of the South.

And Missouri.

It's about damn time.

I wonder what kind of angle they're working with that.

I don't think it's an angle.

I think the war is over.

So what are we gonna do now?

We're gonna take care of the farm, Jesse.

Gardner: Jesse wasn't doing that well

trying to be just a normal person, a normal Joe.

That life was so sedate

compared to the rush of the wind in your face

and the smell of gunpowder

and seeing the fear in people's eyes.

I'll be back. I promise.

Gardner: So I think, for him, the natural place to turn...

"I know how to rob trains, I know how to rob banks."

Narrator: After two years in hiding,

Jesse James is going back to a life of crime.

Narrator: After years of roaming the West,

looking to make his fortune,

Wyatt Earp has finally found himself a home...

as deputy marshal of Dodge City.

With his imposing figure and strongarm tactics,

Wyatt's bringing a new sense of order

to the lawless frontier.

Ann Kirschner: Rather than use bullets,

he was more likely to use words.

But if he really needed to, he would pick up his pistol

and hit the offender over the head with it.

Very effective.

Narrator: Wyatt averages nearly 300 arrests a month.

But soon he gets a case that will change his outlook

on justice in the West.

In 1878, Dora Hand,

a popular Dodge City actress and singer,

is murdered... shocking the town.

But despite Wyatt's tireless efforts

to seek justice and overwhelming evidence,

her murderer walks free without a trial

after his father, a wealthy businessman,

pays off local officials.

Bill Richardson: The American West at the time

was lawlessness.

And there were many violent acts

that weren't prosecuted.

The court system was not the best.

Narrator: The case leaves Wyatt questioning

why he bothers enforcing the law...

in a town where corruption runs so deep.

Miles away in a remote hideout in Missouri...

Jesse James is planning his next heist.

Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes, brother?

Looky there.

Jesse, I ain't comin' back.

I thought long and hard now.

And it's time.

What do you mean?

What do you mean you're not coming back?

We've been on the run half our lives.

I'm tired.

I'm sick and tired of it, Jesse.

I'm gonna be a husband.

I'm gonna be a father.

It ain't right kids growing up without no father.

You and I know that better than most.

So you rode all the way out here

to tell me you're quittin' on me?

You want to be famous,

or you want a family?

Go be with your son.

Well, I appreciate you coming out.

Gardner: Frank was just able to adjust better

to that civilian lifestyle than Jesse was.

Frank has a son by this time.

I think he would prefer to leave that life behind.

Narrator: Jesse's already lost

every other member of his gang...

and now with Frank backing out,

he'll have to rebuild his life of crime

on his own.

Over 900 miles away...

the murderous rampage of Billy the Kid...

that left the Lincoln County sheriff

and five other men dead

is gaining the attention

of New Mexico's most prominent figures,

including wealthy landowner Thomas Catron.

David Eisenbach: Sheriff Brady was owned by the House.

He was indebted to them,

and he was abusing his office as sheriff.

But killing a sheriff now brings on all sorts of heat.

You cannot kill an officer of the law

without the law having to crack you.

Not necessarily 'cause that officer was a good guy,

but because he's a symbol of the system.

Narrator: After three months of hunting,