Butcher's Crossing

Dear Father,

I'm sure you know by now

I decided to leave Harvard and travel west.

I hope to find a stronger purpose

and more meaning in my life.

Expand my understanding of the world beyond Boston.

It's something that I need to do.

You may not understand this...

...but I hope you can accept it.

I will be back before winter.

With love...

...William.

[ Flies buzzing, creature bleats ]

- Two bits extra if you want water brought up.

Be here long?

I'm not sure.

Sir, do you know where I can find a J.D. McDonald?

- You here for business? - No, sir.

- Well, if you follow the road to the end of town,

you'll see his shack.

That is impressive.

That ain't nothing.

You're better off chopping wood.

$4 a hide?

These ain't prime.

Says who?

The market!

That's who, goddamn it!

You want to be a hide man, you ought to go do it yourself!

Now, go on and kill some more buff,

or someone else will!

Trudy Maloney.

Ah, Maloney.

Robert C. Hansen.

- - Eva Marshall.

Solomon.

Sir.

Come back tomorrow!

- My name is William Andrews, sir.

I reckon you don't remember me, huh?

- Goddamn it, if I'd remembered you,

I'd have said something when you first came in!

My --

My father is Edward Andrews, sir.

He is the minister of the Unitarian Church in Boston.

We took you in about 14 years ago.

You come out looking for work.

Here, I-I-I saved your letters.

All of them.

Mm-hmm.

Hmm.

My father spoke of you often.

- I wasn't anyone for him to speak of.

- I think he admired you because you were

the only man he knew who came out here

and made a life for himself.

Hmm!

That's right!

That's right!

I did 400,000 buffalo hides last year,

and it's just the start.

I send out parties, they bring in the hides.

I plan on doing my own curing and tanning...

...right here, do it all myself!

Your father's a Harvard man.

Shouldn't you be in school?

- I-I went, but I'm just not interested

in that kind of education.

Want a job!

God knows I can't keep up!

I'm already two months behind!

- I didn't come out here for that.

I want --

- Well, what is it, boy?!

- Uh... - Spit it out, already!

- I would like to see as much of the country as I can.

Get to know it?

Uh, maybe you could send me out

with one of your hunting parties, sir.

Boy, I won't be responsible.

You start going out with those men, it'll ruin you.

It'll get in you, like buffalo lice.

You'll be rotten from the inside!

- I'm sorry to have bothered you, Mr. McDonald.

You got it all figured out!

- No, sir, I-I don't have anything figured out.

- - Hell was I?

What are you talking about?

- Hup, hup, hey! Whoo!

- Didn't have no business being there in the first place.

Excuse me, sir, um,

I-I believe, uh, I saw you earlier today.

What can I do for you?

I would like to go

on a hunt, sir.

Ain't no tours around here.

Not a tour.

A hunt.

I can be helpful and, um...

I'm listening.

...around the camp.

I'm a rather quick study.

Uh --

This here's Charley Hoge.

He's my camp man.

Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hoge.

Put 'er there.

Don't mind Charley, son.

It's just his idea of fun.

Have a seat.

Francine'll get the drinks.

- Hi. - How do you do?

- Why don't you tie up with one of McDonald's parties?

- Mr. McDonald and I don't see it the same way.

McDonald's a crook.

We do the work. He takes all the money.

I work for myself, or I don't work.

Miller don't work for nobody.

- Things are changing around here.

Used to be you could get 1,000 head

in just a couple of weeks of hunting.

Now, the herds have scattered.

It's getting harder to make a real kill.

But there are still places that they can be found.

Huh.

What kind of places?

I can trust you, boy?

- Yes. Yes, sir.

- In the fall of '64, I was trapping beaver

up in the Colorado Territory.

Took my mule up into the mountains

to find some bear,

and I came upon a place where the mountain

dropped off sharp into a valley that wound in and out.

I had a feeling no man had ever been there before.

There was buffalo.

Scattered all over like a great black sea.

Fall fur, but thicker and better than a winter

for all the plains grazers.

Maybe 10,000 head.

- That's the country of the devil.

Charley lost that hand up in the Rockies.

He -- He ain't liked mountain country since.

- Hellfire and ice. Ain't no place for human man.

- Why haven't you gone back since?

I haven't been able to get together

the right kind of party for it.

What kind, uh, do you need?

- The kind where it'll be my hunt.

Right.

Could you get a party up, this late in the year, yeah?

I could.

But I need about $500 or $600 to do it.

Uh...

...that's about all I got.

Now, you know

McDonald's guys can go out

and bring in small load after small load,

but this will be one of the biggest hauls

anyone has ever seen.

A hunt like this happens once in a lifetime.

You wasting my time, son?

No. No, sir.