[Hooves pounding]
[Goat bleats]
[Dog barks]
[Hooves pounding]
[Folk tune plays, background]
[Hooves pounding]
[Folk tune continues, background]
SPIDER: Look here!
[Horses whinny]
[Folk tune continues, background]
[Suspenseful instrumental music plays, background]
Lindsey!
[Suspenseful instrumental music continues]
[Gunshots]
[Panicked screaming]
Megan!
Lindsey!
[Horses neigh]
[Dog barks]
[Baby cries in distance]
[Chickens clucking]
Those sow-wallowing monkeys' asses.
[Megan sobs]
[Slow instrumental music, background]
"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. "
But I do want.
"He leadeth me beside still waters.
"He restoreth my soul. "
But they killed my dog.
[Thunder rumbles]
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...
MEGAN: "... I shall fear no evil... "
But I am afraid.
"... for thou art with me...
"... thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. "
But we need a miracle.
[Slow instrumental music continues]
[Thunder rumbles]
MEGAN: "Thy loving kindness and mercy...
"... shall follow me all the days of my life. "
If you exist.
"And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. "
But I'd like to get more out of this life first.
If you don't help us...
...we're all going to die.
[Slow instrumental music continues]
Please?
Just one miracle?
Amen.
Quitting, Mr. Barret?
No, Eddie, just going to town.
Ain't that kind of dumb?
You remember what happened to you last time?
TEDDY: You quitting, Mr. Barret? HULL: Just going to town.
Ain't that kind of dumb after what happened last time?
[Horse carriage rattles]
It's Barret.
HULL: Good afternoon, Mrs. B.
JED: Damn fool!
At least wait till the smoke clears.
We seem to need a few supplies.
All new camp, the way I hear it.
You've got sand, boy, but less sense than a sack of beans.
We've got no choice. They ruined McPherson's shack.
Busted some others. If it snows, the children will get sick.
Go on!
I expect you'll pay for all of this in gold, right?
When I put together a few ounces, I'll bring them in.
It'll take more than that.
Throw me that ledger!
JED: The last payment you made...
...was eight months ago, when Lindquist brought his dust in.
There's no color left in Carbon Creek.
Then why is LaHood driving us out?
JED: He ain't used to being said no to.
HULL: There's color and nuggets. Spider panned one out this morning.
JED: Spider Conway? I've got that son of a bitch down for $85.33.
Forty-three cents. He wants cyanide to bleach his dust.
JED: That tears it!
Tell Spider...
...and the others that this is the end of the line.
The tit's gone dry! No more credit, you hear?
You're a decent man.
We're grateful for what you've done.
Don't coddle me! I ain't doing this for you.
I'm the only merchant in town LaHood doesn't own.
It does my soul good to see a few thorns in his side.
HULL: One day, when we strike it big, I'll pay you off myself.
With interest, Mrs. B.
Just get your goods in that wagon and skedaddle.
JED: Keep moving no matter what they say.
So long.
You take care, Hull.
[Door slams]
MCGILL: We got a beef with you.
When we rode through the canyon, you didn't say hello.
Told you to stay out of town.
TYSON: When I kicked your head, it must've jarred your memory.
Kick him again, maybe it'll come back.
[Men chuckle]
JAGOU: Tell us about your Wheeler women.
You humping just the growed one or both?
[Men laugh]
ELAM: Probably both at the same time.
JAGOU: The little one is just out of knickers, ain't she?
I'll bet she's as juicy as a freshwater clam.
What will make you fight like a man?
I didn't come here to fight.
Then you shouldn't have come.
TYSON: You made a big mistake, tin pan. You know that?
[Wind howling]
Can I take a look at your goods?
HULL: Leave them be.
[Grunting and groaning]
[Fast-paced, dramatic instrumental music, background]
MCGILL: Canvas, burlap and wood.
Looks like the makings of a good fire.
You shouldn't play with matches.
[Bucket bangs]
[Clomping footsteps]
[Grunting and groaning]
Goddamn!
There's nothing like a nice piece of hickory.
[Groaning]
Much obliged.
[Slow instrumental music, background]
[Clomping footsteps]
[Horse whinnies]
HULL: Hey, there!
HULL: Hull Barret's my name.
- You from hereabouts? - Nope.
Just passing through?
I hadn't thought about it.
After what you did, I wouldn't stay in town.
My cabin has two rooms. You're welcome to one.
I wouldn't want to be a burden on you or your family.
All I got is a kind of fiancée.
HULL: It would be a pleasure, not a burden.
Three hots and a cot is the least I owe you.
ULRIK: So long, Hull. HULL: Where you going?
ULRIK: Going. Getting out.
Where the hell to?
Away. Can't fight no more.
ULRIK: I'm not the only one.
Good luck. You'll quit, too, if you're smart.
MEGAN: "And power was given to him that sat to take peace from the earth...
"... that they should kill one another: And he was given a great sword.
"When he opened the third seal, the third beast said, 'Come and see. "'
Fetch me some butter and syrup.
"And I beheld, and lo a black horse...
"... he that sat on him held a pair of balances. And I heard a voice...
"... amidst the beasts say, 'A measure of wheat for a penny... "'
[Horse whinnies]
"'... and three of barley for a penny...
"'... and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. '
"When he opened the fourth seal, the fourth beast said:
"'Come and see. ' And I looked...
"... and behold a pale horse: And his name that sat on him...
"... was Death... "
[Slow instrumental music, background]
[Wind howling]
"... and Hell followed with him. "
HULL: Here's a towel for you.
[Slow instrumental music, background]
Dinner will be ready pretty soon.
HULL: You should have seen how he waded into McGill and his men.
He sounds no different than any of LaHood's men.
He wasn't afraid of them.
HULL: We need someone they can't scare. MEGAN: You scared of them?
He should be. But he's too all-fired stubborn.
HULL: I was scared and they knew it. LaHood's got us all scared.
Lindquist left and didn't even know where he was going.
"I'm just going," he said.
SARAH: The colony is beaten. The only one who doesn't know it is you.
And me! I'm not leaving until LaHood's men are whipped.
Hush, Megan!
SARAH: You got her talking more like she's your daughter.
Tell her that fighting is nonsense.
Who's talking about fighting?
You, talking about this stranger! Is he a gunman?
I hope so. I'd chip in an ounce of dust for a little protection.
From a hired killer?
HULL: Who said he's a hired killer?
Megan, we're going home.
- Sarah, please. - Get rid of him!
HULL: I will. SARAH: Today!
- Right after supper. - No!
- Now! - He saved my life.
PREACHER: Good evening.
I hope I'm not the cause of this excitement.
Do you mind?
Go right ahead.
There's nothing like a shot of whiskey...
...to whet a man's appetite.
Fine looking fricassee.
PREACHER: Don't want it to get cold.
I apologize.
I didn't realize...
I'll be damned.
Here, come right down here.
I'll get you some biscuits. There's your stew, some butter and syrup.
MEGAN: You want anything else?
Just some company. Aren't you joining me?
Of course!
How do you do?
Thank you for helping on Hull's behalf this morning.
I'm Sarah Wheeler.
This is my daughter, Megan.
HULL: I guess we got carried away...
...but from the way you handled those men, I never would have thought...
Will you say grace?
Certainly.
PREACHER: For what we are about to receive...
...may we be truly thankful.
Amen.
HULL: Amen.
Amen.
[Josh yelling]
[Loud gushing of water]
[Horse neighs]
JOSH: You should've started an hour ago. MCGILL: I apologize.
We'd have been here, but we got tied up at the sawbone's.
What the hell happened?
We had a little set-in with Barret in town, Boss.
And you got whipped? In LaHood, California, by a tin pan?
There was a stranger who gave him a hand.
Stranger?
A big guy.
Who're you talking about?
He left with Barret. We didn't stick around.
McGill, take the sluice.
Jagou, Tyson, Elam, take over the monitor.
Club!
[Dramatic instrumental music, background]
PREACHER: This man, LaHood, he's the one you all are feuding with?
HULL: Him and his son. Old Coy LaHood, he's a powerful man.
He came up here in '54 or '55, I think it was.
He was the first to strike it rich.
He saved himself a poke, then he'd stake new claims and mine them out...
...then buy some more. Lately, he's been using big hydraulic monitors.
They blast a place to hell. Excuse my French.
LaHood's more powerful now than ever.
Carbon Canyon's the only place he hasn't ruined.
He's greedy for it, too.
Does he have any rights to your canyon?
No, our claims are filed in Sacramento.
The only way LaHood can take this land legally is if we leave it.
I take it he's been kind of persuasive.
I don't care if they all leave, I'm staying. He killed my dog and Grandpa.
Isn't there any law around to take your case to?
If there was, LaHood would own them like he owns everything.
And there's not much a lawman could do even if we had one.
LaHood ain't killed anyone yet.
HULL: Meg's grandpa's heart gave out.
I've been taking care of Sarah and Megan ever since.
It ain't that we're living in sin...
...or that I won't marry her.
But one day, a few years back, her husband...
...Megan's father, lit out on her...
...and left her with a child.
And since then, getting her trustful of a man hasn't been easy.
But when we do get hitched, will you do it?
If you're waiting for a woman to make up her mind, you may have a long wait.
Yeah, I guess so.
Meantime, why don't you put me to work?
No, I couldn't ask you to...
Maybe something spiritual.
That spirit ain't worth spit without a little exercise. Tell me where.
Well, okay.
I always thought that if I could split that rock there...
...and get to the gravel underneath, there's gold been waiting there forever.
HULL: Every morning for two years, I've been coming out here, and you see...
...it's like this rock and me have kind of an agreement.
I'm going to do it in, or it's going to do me in.
I'd hate to lay odds on who's going to win.
I thought of drilling and blasting the son of a gun, but that would...
- Wreck the stream? - Dam it up, be the end of everything.
There's few problems can't be solved with a little sweat and hard work.
[Clanking]
[Horse whinnies]
[Low, dramatic instrumental music, background]
Hull? Mr. Preacher?
MEGAN: Somebody's coming.
[Low, dramatic instrumental music continues]
You recognize them?
The one on the left is LaHood's boy, Josh.
The other one...
...I ain't never seen him before.
Friend of yours, Barret?
Yep. He's our new preacher.
I hear you messed up some of my boys.
Nothing personal.
Don't you take it personal, but get the hell out of Carbon Canyon.
There's a lot of sinners hereabouts.
I shouldn't leave before I finish my work.
Club.
[Low, dramatic instrumental music intensifies]
[Club yells]
SPIDER: Jesus!
JOSH: Your work done now, Preacher?
Part of it, leastways.
[Club groans]
[Club gasps]
[Club groans]
Put it in a little ice, that'll take care of it.
Thanks for stopping by, son.
[Club gasping]
JOSH: You think you can make it?
CLUB: Ice!
The Lord certainly does work in mysterious ways.
[Slow instrumental music, background]
Preacher, my ass!
[Slow instrumental music swells]
[Train engine chugs]
PORTER: Watch that step!
COY: Why? Damn thing move since we left Sacramento?
[Porter chuckles]
- Thank you, Mr. LaHood. - Welcome home, Pop.
MCGILL: How was Sacramento?
COY: Paradise! Two politicians for every Chinese laundry...
...and two whores for every politician.
[Men chuckle]
If there was gold in the delta, I'd go there. How's business?
We're pulling low-grade ore out of number five, but it's about played out.
We went down 20 feet more in 12 shaft, got only manganite, and shut it down.
And that vein in Cobalt Canyon is wearing thin, too.
What about Carbon?
We ran another raid through there a few days back and scared them good.
We damn near run them out, lock, stock, and barrel.
COY: So?
Seems a stranger came through and pulled them together.
Ain't that right?
Yeah, he pulled them together.
This one stranger did that?
I expect you boys didn't explain to him just who we are.
I expect that once you explain things to him, he'll decide to move on!
There ain't much for a preacher to do here, right?
A preacher?
You let a preacher into Carbon Canyon?
We didn't invite him! He took up with Hull.
What's wrong with a preacher?
When I left, those tin pans had all but given up.
COY: Their spirit was nearly broken.
And a man without spirit is whipped.
But a preacher, he could give them faith.
Shit! One ounce of faith, they'll be dug in deeper than ticks on a hound.
You boys throw a rope around that man. You bring him to me!
COY: No, don't.
If we get too rough, we'll make a martyr out of him. Don't want that.
- That's true. - You didn't get no help from Sacramento?
COY: Sacramento ain't worth moose piss!
JOSH: They didn't sign the writ?
COY: Not only that...
...some of them bastard politicians want to do away with hydraulic mining.
COY: "Raping the land," they call it.
We got to move on Carbon, and move fast and dig deep.
Because the way the wind's blowing, we may be out of business soon.
COY: And those tin pans have got to go!
And that preacher!
We'll have to find a way to deal with him.
MEGAN: Were Grandma and Grandpa happy when you got married?
SARAH: They didn't have a thimbleful of choice in the matter.
MEGAN: Were they surprised?
SARAH: Grandpa took the measles, and Grandma got drunk.
I suppose you could say it surprised them some.
MEGAN: Because they thought you weren't old enough?
Your grandma was 15 when she got married.
No, I think what riled them was who I married.
Will you be happy married to Hull?
Who says I'm marrying Hull?
He's nice enough, isn't he?
Yes.
He's nice.
Do preachers get married?
I don't see why not.
How do I look?
You look lovely.
SARAH: You are the prettiest daughter...
...I could ever have.
[Hull squeals]
PREACHER: Break your hand?
It's a nugget! The biggest damn nugget I've ever seen.
Look here. Look at that!
Isn't that beautiful? Almost as beautiful as Sarah.
Sarah! Megan!
Yeah, it figures.
It came from underneath that boulder.
[Spider repeats Hull's explanation]
I was right.
HULL: I was right.
It must weigh four oz. That's a quarter pound of gold.
[Sarah and Megan gasp]
Is that real?
Real? Just look at it.
[Sarah and Megan gasp and laugh]
Let's celebrate.
Can we go into town?
I don't think that's a very good idea.
That would clear your credit, wouldn't it?
It would, and then some.
Can we, please?
What do you think?
Why not? We've got as much right in town as the next person.
Going to town again?
That's right. Want to come along?
No, our daddy wouldn't let us go to town.
EDDIE: Sure is a nice day for it, though.
[Horse carriage rattles]
HULL: I'll be back. I'll go square things with Mr. Blankenship.
HULL: Take care of the ladies. PREACHER: That won't be hard.
HULL: We'll get a soda after I'm done.
MEGAN: Look.
MEGAN: I'll go get Hull. PREACHER: That's all right.
He'll be fine.
My papa wants to see you, Preacher.
He does, does he?
All right.
SARAH: Don't go. I know it's a trick.
I'll be all right.
MEGAN: What if they hurt him? SARAH: Shut up.
I'm sorry.
It's all right.
COY: Preacher, my name is Coy LaHood.
PREACHER: I know.
COY: Do you imbibe, Reverend?
PREACHER: Only after 9:00 in the morning.
[Coy chuckles]
COY: When I heard a parson had come to town...
...I had an image of a pale, scrawny, Bible-thumping Easterner...
...with a linen handkerchief and bad lungs.
PREACHER: That's me.
Hardly.
Your health.
COY: It occurred to me it must be difficult for a man of faith...
...to carry the message on an empty stomach, so to speak.
I thought...
...why not invite this devout and humble man to preach in town?
COY: Why not let the town be his parish? In fact...
...why not build him a brand-new church?
I can see where a preacher'd be mighty tempted by an offer like that.
Oh, indeed.
Then he'd be thinking about getting himself a batch of new clothes.
We'd have them tailor-made.
Then he'd start thinking about those Sunday collections.
Hell, in a town as rich as LaHood, that preacher'd be a wealthy man.
That's why it wouldn't work.
Can't serve God and Mammon both. Mammon being money.
[Coy sighs]
COY: I opened this country.
I made this town what it is.
I brought jobs and industry.
I built an empire with my own two hands.
And I've never asked help of anyone.
COY: Those squatters, Reverend, are standing in the way of progress.
Theirs or yours?
Here, look. Just look at that writ!
Comes hot from Sacramento, giving me mineral rights to the whole canyon.
That hardly seems likely. If you had those rights, you'd have exercised them.
No, those people have legal claims. You can't mine there till they leave.
Damn it! You read that writ!
If it was worth the paper it's on, you wouldn't be trying to bribe me.
What's your business with those tin pans, Reverend?
Nothing. They're just friends.
You and your friends got 24 hours to pack up and leave...
... or my men will ride through that canyon and run you out!
I've been a law-abiding man, but now I'm out of patience.
And any blood that gets spilled will be on your hands.
[Slow, dramatic instrumental music, background]
You're a troublemaker, stranger.
You spell bad cess in letters that stretch from here to Seattle.
Thanks for the drink.
[Slow, dramatic instrumental music continues]
Now, I've reasoned and I've bargained with you and I've come up short.
But what's mine is mine, and if you make me fight for it, I will.
COY: There is a man, a marshal.
He keeps the peace, if you take my meaning. His name is Stockburn.
And he won't be as patient as me.
These people in Carbon Canyon, would you pay cash for their claims?
Buy them out?
I'd do anything to prevent bloodshed. How about $100 a head?
How about $1,000?
[Coy laughs, others join in]
I'll tell you what: I'll go up to $125.
Stockburn and his deputies will cost you a lot more than that.
How would you know?
How much is it worth to have a clear conscience?
[Coy sighs]
$1,000 per claim then.
But I want them out of here in 24 hours!
I paid him off in full. I even have enough to pay off Sparters.
[Sarah breathing heavily]
Where is he?
In there.
Well, do something, Hull!
What were you doing in there?
LaHood was buying me a drink.
Thanks for the thought.
MINER LEADER: So we all vote in favor? MINERS: Yeah!
MINER LEADER: Speak up! All those in favor?
MINER LEADER: Are any opposed? MINERS: Nay.
SPIDER: Me and LaHood's seen a lot of ground together, starting back in '55.
He may be greedy, but he ain't no fool.
If he offers $1,000 a claim, it's because it's worth five times that.
GRIZZLED MINER: The way LaHood works, maybe. The way we work...
... we're lucky to see $1,000 a year.
I say we take his offer.
Suppose you struck a thousand bucks in nuggets.
Would you quit and blow town? Or keep digging?
SPIDER: What do you say, Preacher?
PREACHER: What I say doesn't matter. It's your sweat he's buying.
Why don't you sleep on it, make the decision in the morning?
What if we don't decide in the morning? What happens if we can't decide?
Then I suppose LaHood'll take that as no.
EV: Then what?
He said he'd call in a marshal.
HULL: What kind of a threat is that?
We have nothing to fear from the law.
This is no ordinary kind of marshal.
His name is Stockburn. He travels with six deputies.
And they uphold whatever law pays them the most.
Killing is a way of life with them. I'm telling you this...
...because if you decide against LaHood's offer, you'll meet him.
You know this Stockburn?
I've heard of him.
We all know what we're up against.
He ain't just saying, "Take my offer. " He's saying, "Take it or else. "
We're family men. We're no match for seven guns.
HULL: Yeah, but how many of us are there? Twenty?
I heard the preacher. I know these men are professionals.
But it's still twenty against seven, ain't it?
HULL: And we know how to pull a damn trigger, don't we?
MINERS: Yeah.
If it comes down to it, I'll fight before I'll quit my claim...
...but, damn it, LaHood's offer's fair.
EV: I still vote we take his money and we start afresh elsewhere.
Starting fresh sounds good when you're in trouble...
...but before we vote to pack up and leave...
...I think we should ask why we're here.
If it's no more than money, then we're no better than LaHood himself.
Spider here asked a question.
If any of us turned up $1,000 worth of nuggets, would he quit? Hell, no!
He'd build his family a better house...
...and buy his kids better clothes...
... maybe build a school...
...or a church.
If we were farmers, we'd be planting crops.
If we raised cattle, we'd tend them. But we're miners...
... so we dig and pan...
... and break our backs for gold.
But gold ain't what we're about. It ain't what I'm about.
I came out here to raise a family. This is my home.
This is my dream. I've sunk roots here.
And we all have buried members of our families in this ground.
And this is their dream, too, and they died for it.
Now we're going to take $1,000 and leave their graves untended?
We owe them more than that.
We owe ourselves more.
If we sell out now...
...what price do we put on our dignity next time?
$2,000?
Less?
Or just the best offer?
I say to hell with LaHood!
[Miners mumble in agreement]
I ain't a brave man, but I ain't no coward neither.
We took our chances this far.
I vote we keep it up.
MINERS: Yeah... yeah.
To hell with LaHood!
Let them come!
GRIZZLED MINER: We're ready!
[Soft instrumental music, background]
[Footsteps]
I buried my dog over here.
That's hallowed ground then.
MEGAN: I said a prayer for her.
It was after the raid.
I prayed for a miracle.
PREACHER: Maybe someday you'll get that miracle.
It was the day you arrived.
[Soft instrumental music continues]
I think I love you.
There's nothing wrong with that.
If there was more love in the world...
...there'd probably be a lot less dying.
Then there can't be anything wrong with making love either.
I think it's best just to...
...practice loving before you think about the other.
If I practice just loving for a while, will you teach me the other?
Megan, most folks around...
...kind of associate that with marriage.