Meacham.
- This looks deserted. - He's here all right. Meacham!
With the colonel's permission, sir.
The door is open, sir.
- Open the shutters. Get the stench out. - Yes, sir.
Meacham.
- Well, Mr. York. - Let's go, Meacham.
By your leave, sir.
Another exile in our wilderness.
Colonel Thursday, our new commanding officer.
Your servant, Mr. Thursday.
- May the Lord... - Colonel Thursday, Mr. Meacham.
Oh, bless you, I pay no attention to military titles.
I don't believe in titles of any kind.
We're all his brothers, his children.
Even these savages entrusted to my care.
- I feed them and clothe them... - And fill them full of rotgut whiskey.
I have a license.
Spirits have their uses. This is not a healthy climate.
Perhaps the colonel would like a drink after his ride.
No? Your health.
Mr. Meacham...
...a band of Indians has left the reservation.
That's right. That Diablo and 30 others, the ungrateful dogs.
I treat them well. I have goods for them to buy.
- Knives, calico, wool... - Cheap, shoddy trash.
No.
Mist... Colonel Thursday, you know how children are.
They like their bright toys.
Winchester seven-shot repeaters are not toys, Meacham.
Captain York, I am attempting to question Mr. Meacham.
Yes, sir.
Right, sir.
There's no reason, to your knowledge...
...why a band of Apache should go on the warpath?
Not the warpath. Misguided maybe, like wayward children.
Mister, two of my troopers are dead. Tortured to death.
Not by my Apaches. Some other raiding party, perhaps.
How can you be sure?
We've taken Diablo and his band, what's left of them.
- They'll be here soon. - You'll keep them here.
You'll assign a troop to keep them here.
That's what I've been telling Mr. York. I leave it to you.
How can I, one Ione man, be responsible for all these savages?
Now you see what's happened.
Two of your men have been killed.
Brave men, serving their country, as I am.
This wouldn't have happened if the highhanded Mr. York...
- Oh, you mealy-mouthed... - Captain York.
Mr. Meacham is a representative of the United States government.
He will be treated with due respect.
- May I say something, sir? - What is it?
No troop or squadron or regiment's gonna keep the Apaches on this reservation...
...unless they wanna stay here.
Five years ago, we made a treaty with Cochise.
He and his Chiricahuas and some of the other Apache bands...
...came on the reservation.
They wanted to live here in peace, and did for two years.
And then Meacham here was sent by the Indian ring.
That's a lie. I been...
The dirtiest, most corrupt political group in our history.
Then it began. Whiskey, but no beef. Trinkets instead of blankets.
The women degraded, the children sickly, and the men turning into drunken animals.
So Cochise did the only thing a decent man could do.
He left. Took most of his people and crossed the Rio Bravo into Mexico.
- He broke his treaty. - Yes.
Rather than see his nation wiped out.
The law's the law, and I demand that you soldier boys enforce it.
Any demands you wish to make...
...you will make through official channels, Mr. Meacham.
Do not again employ that word in my presence.
- No offense, sir. No offense. - Ready, sir.
- Lead the way. Come along, sir. - Where?
- To your storehouse. - There's nothing in there.
Here, sir.
- Mister... Colonel Thursday, I protest. - Put it in writing.
- What's in these boxes? - It's marked "Bibles," sir.
- That's all it is... - Open them up.
What's this scale used for?
Weigh government beef rations.
I seem to have gained 75 pounds since I came to Arizona.
Bibles, sir.
Sergeant, pour me some scripture.
What's in this, brimstone and sulfur?
You know what it is. I'm entitled to keep it.
Your license permits you to keep medicinal whiskey...
...but this is no whiskey.
You're not used to frontier whiskey.
I don't know. I've tasted most everything.
Sergeant, you a judge of whiskey?
Well, sir, some people say I am, and some say I'm not, sir.
Tell me what you make of this.
Well...
...it's better than no whiskey at all, sir.
- Strike a match. - Yes, sir.
Since it doesn't appear to be whiskey...
...and since it seems to be of highly inflammable and dangerous liquid...
...I find there's only one thing to do, Mr. Meacham: Destroy it.
I protest. I'll write Washington. I'll have you busted.
Mr. Meacham, you're a blackguard, a liar, a hypocrite...
...and a stench in the nostrils of honest men.
If it were in my power, I'd hang you from a tree...
...leave your carcass for the buzzards.
But as you are a representative of the United States government...
...I pledge you the protection and cooperation of my command.
Good day, sir.
What about these Winchesters, sir?
The pins are bent. Sergeant Mulcahy, straighten them with this.
You heard what he said.
Destroy it.
Destroy it, he says.
Well, boys...
...we've a man's work ahead of us this day.
Unlock the door.
- Michael... - Prisoners, outside.
Michael.
Private Mulcahy.
Private Shattuck.
Private Quincannon.
And Private Beaufort.
I'm ashamed of you, the whole of youse.
You're a disgrace to your regiment.
If there was a regulation for it, I'd make you take the tippler's oath.
Michael.
Volunteers for the manure pile.
Left face.
Take them out of here.
Hup. Hup.
Hup. Hup. Hup.
All together men. Hup.
- There was Sergeant John McAfferty... - Oh, shut up.
Hup, hup, hup.
Hup, hup.
Assuming you found Cochise...
...would he listen to you, would he believe you?
Cochise knows me, sir. I've never lied to him.
And if you can assure him decent treatment for his people...
I'll confess he interests me.
And these Eastern newspapers...
I hadn't realized Cochise was so well-known.
Oh, he's known.
He's had the laugh on every troop in the Southwest these three years.
Six campaigns, he's outgeneraled us, outfought us, and outrun us.
That's just the point, sir.
There aren't enough troops in the whole territory to make Cochise come back.
But one man, a man he trusts, might persuade him.
A carbine against his spine might be more persuasive.
Well, I'll go in unarmed, sir.
I can't fight my way in. We either walk in or...
A man who brought Cochise back...
I'm for it, captain. How many men will you need?
One, sir. Sergeant Beaufort.
- Private Beaufort, sir. - Why him?
He speaks Spanish, so does Cochise.
My Apache has its limits.
Shouldn't you take another officer instead?
- Sergeant Beaufort was a... - Private Beaufort, sir.
Private Beaufort was a major in the Confederate Army.
An aid to Jeb Stuart.
I remember Cadet Stuart.
- Quite. - He was...
Were you saying something, captain?
I said "quite," sir.
I'd like to leave at once, if the colonel has no questions.
- What? - Questions, sir?
No, no questions. Proceed, captain. Take your ex-rebel.
- Thank you. - That is all.
- Ready, Sergeant Beaufort? - Yes, sir.
- Anything is preferable to shoveling... - That's what I thought.
Well, here we go.
Private Mulcahy.
My compliments, sir.
Officers pet. Officer's pet, that's what he is.
How's your hangover?
Sir, you're the nicest Yankee I've ever known.
Well, let's go.
Quincannon, if that's you, you can wait till payday. I'm not gonna...
Having dinner?
Well, yes, I will have a cup of tea.
And if you urge me, I may even take a piece of pie.
Good evening, lieutenant. I haven't been seeing much of you lately.
Please don't stand.
- Phil... Miss Thursday, l... - I had hoped you might call.
You did leave your card, didn't you?
This is your card, isn't it?
Isn't it proper, Sergeant Major O'Rourke...
...for an officer to call after leaving his card?
It would be, except that...
The colonel has forbidden me to address you, Miss Thursday.
But you are addressing me, aren't you, lieutenant?
And if... If a young man hasn't enough...
Enough gumption to address a young woman who...
Who, even if her father is a colonel, well...
I don't think he's as brave as I think he is.
- Do you, Mrs. O'Rourke? - No, I don't.
Ma'am, your father is Michael's commanding officer.
His orders will be obeyed.
Miss Thursday, I'm afraid you'd best leave us.
Michael O'Rourke.
Sit down, dear.
And you sit down yourself.
And you, have you nothing to say?
Or have you learned your manners from this big bull of a man?
There's much I'd say, if I could get a word in edgewise.
Miss Thurs...
Miss Thursday...
...if I had any thought that it really mattered to you whether I spoke to you or not...
But I couldn't believe you felt the same way about me.
And what way was that, lieutenant?
Well, I...
Miss Thursday, if you'll just step outside.
The colonel. He come.
He very angry.
He know she here.
Come, Philadelphia. I'm here to bring you home.
I'm not ready to leave, Father. I've been invited to dinner.
Won't you stay, colonel?
Thank you, Mrs. O'Rourke. Another time, perhaps.
Well, at least allow me to take your hat.
I beg your pardon. Come, Phil.
Colonel Thursday, sir, I would...
Mr. O'Rourke, I want no words with you at this time.
- But, colonel, sir... - You heard me, sir.
Now, get out of here before I say something I may regret.
This is my home, Colonel Owen Thursday.
And in my home I will say who is to get out and who is to stay.
And I will remind the colonel that his presence here, uninvited...
...is contrary to Army regulations...
...not to mention the code of a well-mannered man.
Dad, please.
Colonel Thursday, sir, what I've been trying to tell you, sir...
...is that I love your daughter.
And I ask her now, in your presence, to be my wife.
Yes, Michael.
I see.
- Philadelphia, I ask you to reconsider. - No, Father.
I tell you, this is not a proper or suitable marriage for you.
I can't believe that.
Sergeant Major O'Rourke, you will pardon me for speaking bluntly.
But as a noncommissioned officer, you are aware of the barrier...
...between your class and mine. - I am, sir.
But Michael's an officer. Not that it makes any difference.
It makes a difference in the Army, Phil.
The sergeant major knows that, and his son should know it.
The Army, sir, is not the whole world.
No, but it's your world, and your mother's world and my world.
I'm not as young as I once was.
With your permission, I'll put in for retirement.
That won't be necessary, sergeant major.
Nor need you, mister, give up your profession.
My daughter is not of legal age. She cannot marry without my consent.
I'll be of age in two years.
Sergeant major, I beg your pardon for entering your quarters without invitation.
Mr. O'Rourke, your pardon for my words. Come, Phil.
I'm not a child, and I love Michael.
I'll arrange at once for your return to the East.
You'll have two years to forget each other.
Mrs. O'Rourke...
...my respects, ma'am.
- Ready? - Ready.
Put the beer right back there on the table. One at each end.
Come on, step lively, step lively.
Krausmeyr, one sour note out of you tonight and back you go shoeing horses.
The same goes for you, Derice.
Now you've got your stripes back.
I'll expect you to be on your best behavior and set a good example for the men.
Oh, don't worry, Michael, me darling.
We'll be the models of decorum. Now, where's the punch?
- Mulcahy, l... - Michael.
Mulcahy, you'll not be spiking the refreshments this year like you did last.
Oh, just one bottle.
- No, sir... - Michael.
Go on, the whole of youse.
- Good evening, O'Rourke. - Good evening, doctor.
And Mrs. O'Rourke.
- It's a fine night for a dance. Clear and dry. - Yes, sir.
- Which reminds me. - Right over there, sir.
- Good evening, O'Rourke. - Good evening, sir.
- And Mrs. O'Rourke. - Good evening.
Oh, sergeant major, you have no idea how I've been looking forward to tonight.
I'm forever telling the captain...
...that it's the noncommissioned officers' dance that is the nicest dance.
Don't you think so, Mrs. O'Rourke?
- Well, of course, l... - And, sergeant major...
...will you please claim me for a dance? - With the greatest of pleasure, ma'am.
- By the way, l... - Right over there, sir.
Thank you, Krausmeyr.
Again, on behalf of the officers of Fort Apache...
...I wish to thank the noncommissioned officers and their ladies...
...for this grand party.
The food is exquisite.
And the punch, wow.
Good evening, Krausmeyr.
And so, as is customary at Fort Apache...
...the commanding officer, Colonel Owen Thursday...
...will lead out the wife of our sergeant major...
...the charming Mrs. Michael O'Rourke.
With your permission...
...Mrs. O'Rourke, may I have the honor?
It will be a pleasure, Colonel Thursday.
And now, Sergeant Major O'Rourke will lead out the colonel's lady...
...in this case, his lovely daughter, Miss Philadelphia Thursday.
And now, ladies and gentlemen...
...quickly take your partners for the grand march.
- My pleasure, miss. - Thank you.
Get out of my way, Meacham, or I'll break both your legs.
Of course, with your permission.
Walk him around then rub him down, will you, son.
Captain York.
- Well? - Cochise has crossed the river, sir.
He's coming in with all his people, wants to talk peace.
- He's returned to American soil? - Yes, sir.
Now, with the colonel's permission...
...I'd like to shake some of this Mexican adobe dust and get back to the dance.
There'll be no time for that. The regiment moves out at dawn.
The regiment?
Cochise says he'll meet with you and me and Meacham.
We'll take a small detail and go unarmed.
I've arranged a rendezvous this side of the Dragoons.
Sergeant major, you'll stop the dance.
Pass the word to the first sergeants. Prepare their troops to march at dawn.
Troop commanders will meet at headquarters at once.
Colonel, if you send out the regiment, Cochise will think I've tricked him.
Exactly. We have tricked him.
Tricked him into returning to American soil. I intend to see that he stays here.
Colonel Thursday, I gave my word to Cochise.
No man is gonna make a liar out of me, sir.
Your word to a breechclouted savage?
An illiterate, uncivilized murderer and treaty-breaker?
There's no question of honor, sir, between an American officer and Cochise.
There is to me, sir.
Captain York...
...you may have commanded your own regiment in the late war...
...but so long as you command a troop in mine, you will obey my orders.
You have your instructions, sergeant major.
Ladies and gentlemen...
...officers and noncommissioned officers, your attention, please.
By order of the commanding officer...
...this night's entertainment will conclude with the playing of the next dance.
After the dance, all first sergeants...
...quartermasters, saddler sergeants, farriers, cooks and bakers...
...report to me at headquarters.
Ladies and gentlemen...
...the noncommissioned officers of Fort Apache...
...offer their deep regrets.
And on their behalf, I wish to thank you for attending this dance.
Krausmeyr, if you please.
Is it to your taste, Johnny, darling?
Column of fours.
- First troop, fours left. - Fours left.
Fours left.
Mrs. Collingwood. Excuse me, ma'am.
It's Captain Collingwood's transfer, ma'am. It just came through.
Oh, run. Run or send someone after. Call him back.
Yes, Aunt Emily.
- I don't know. - What is there to know? Go get him.
Sam's no coward. He never was.
Who's talking about cowardice?
Don't be a fool, woman.
Tom, get mounted. Go bring Captain Collingwood back.
No.
- Keep this for the captain's return. - Yes, ma'am.
I can't see him.
All I can see is the flags.
Squadron, halt.
Halt!
It's the encampment, sir.
Must be about a mile up.
Three hundred wickiups or more.
Very good.
Bugler, my compliments to Captain York.
- Have him report to me. - Yes, sir.
Yes?
Is that approximately where you were to meet Cochise, captain?
Just about.
My officers will address me as "sir," Captain York.
Yes, sir. Will that be all, sir?
It will not.
I propose, York, to deploy the men. Two troops to the north, one to the east.
- We will then converge on the encampment. - I wouldn't do that, sir.
I'm not asking your advice, captain. I'm merely stating.
The Apache, sir, are neither to the north nor the east.
Nor are they in their encampment.
But if you'd have been watching the dust swirls to the south like most of us...
...you'd see that they're right there.
That's Alchesay.
They out number us four to one.
Do we talk or fight?
You seem easily impressed by numbers, captain.
However, I'll honor your word to Cochise.
Tell him we've come to talk.
Gentlemen, I have the honor...
...to present the great hereditary war chief of the Apache nation, Cochise.
Get on with it, captain.
Take over, Beaufort.
Good afternoon.
Gentlemen, this is Alchesay, head of the White Mountain Apaches...
...Satanta of the Mescaleros...
...and the Chiricahua medicine man...
...named Jerome in our language, but in Spanish, Geronimo.
Well, time to get on with it, Beaufort.
- What's he saying? - That the Apaches are a great race, sir.
They've never been conquered.
But it is not well for a nation to be always at war.
The young men die.
The women sing sad songs.
And the old ones are hungry in the winter.
And so I led my people from the hills.
And then came this man.
- What did he say? - Well, sir...
...a translation would be that Meacham's a yellow-bellied polecat...
...of dubious antecedents and conjectural progeny.
Cochise's words, of course, sir, not mine.
That's a matter of opinion.
He is worse than war.
He not only kill the men...
...but the women, and the children...
...and the old ones.
We look to the great white father for protection.
He gave us slow death.
We will not return to your reservation...
...while that man is there...
...or anyone like him.
Send him away and we will speak of peace.
If you do not send him away...
...there will be war.
And for each one of us that you kill...
...ten white men will die.
- Are you threatening us? - Don't, it's an insult.
I'll not sit here and be threatened. Beaufort.
No preliminary nonsense with him, no ceremonial phrasing.
Straight from the shoulders. Do you hear me?
They're recalcitrant swine. They must feel it.
He's only speaking the truth, sir.
Is there anyone in this regiment that understands an order?
- What does the colonel wish me to say, sir? - Tell him I find him without honor.
Tell them they're not talking to me but to the United States government.
Tell him that government orders them to return to their reservation.
And tell them if they've not started by dawn, we will attack. Tell them that.
Bugler...
...sound forward.
Forward.
I don't see them. Not a one.
Well, they're down there, sir, among the rocks.
- Have you seen them, captain? - I don't have to. I know.
- How? - Because if I were Cochise...
...that's where I'd take up position.
And that dust cloud beyond?
It's an Apache trick. Probably squaws and children dragging mesquite.
Very ingenious, captain.
You make me suspect your Cochise has studied under Alexander the Great...
...or Bonaparte, at the least.
March your troops. We'll charge in a column of fours.
Mounted in fours? That's suicide, colonel.
- I tell you, they're down there. - York!
Captain York, you're relieved of command of your troop.
There is no room in this regiment for a coward.
At your service, sir.
- Bugler, pick up Captain York's gauntlet. - Yes, sir.
I'm no duelist, captain.
I will decide whether I will answer you with pistols or a general court-martial.
You will remain on the ridge, in safety, with the supply train.
Take O'Rourke with you.
Gentlemen, you have your orders.
Are there any other questions?
Captain Collingwood?
No questions, Owen.
Gentlemen, join your troops.
A charge. Mounted in fours.
- They're madmen. - And I'm to stay with the wagon train.
And take O'Rourke with me.
You'll find Lieutenant O'Rourke with his troops, sir.
And thank you.
Good luck.
- Good luck, men. - Thank you, sir.
Lieutenant O'Rourke, follow me.
- But the troops, sir... - Don't argue.
- Mulcahy, take over. - Captain York...
Get out of here, you scut, or I'll put you across my knee and belt the pants off you.
Get out now.
As you were, men.
Good luck be to you.
Wheel the wagons.
Get them on the ridge.
Come on, get the horses up behind there.
Come on. Get them over there.
Get those teams off.
All right, break out the picks and shovels.
Come on. Get them over here.
Come on, get them unhooked.
Carry on, boy.
What are you doing, man?
- All right, get them along there. - Come on.
Let's go.
Get her over.
Come along. We'll get her over there.
Get her over there. Let's go.
Turn it over.
Mickey.
Turn it over. Let's go.
Turn it over.
Get to Fort Grant. Tell them where we are.
Tell them we may still be alive if they hurry. Move.
And marry that girl.
Trooper.
Stand by your guns, men. Stand by your guns.
Flarety, you're in charge. I'll be back.
We've dug in on the ridge, sir.
Plenty of water and ammunition.
I sent a courier to Fort Grant, if we can only hold out.
Here, get on my horse.
I'll trouble you for your saber, captain.
My saber?
I must rejoin my command.
The command is wiped out, sir, and there's nothing we can do about it.
I'm not asking your opinion, Captain York.
When you command this regiment, and you probably will, command it.
Your saber, sir.
Any questions, captain?
No questions.
This time you were late, Owen.
You have my apologies.
Sergeant Major O'Rourke, my apologies, sir.
You can save them, sir, for our grandchildren.
Hold your fire, men.
Hold your fire.
However, gentlemen, I warn you, this may be a long campaign.
It may be weeks before you have any headlines for your newspapers.
If we catch Geronimo, that will be headline enough.
And more glory for your regiment.
He must have been a great man.
And a great soldier.
No man died more gallantly...
...nor won more honor for his regiment.
Of course, you're familiar with the famous painting of Thursday's charge, sir.
Yes, I saw it when last in Washington.
That was a magnificent work.
There were massed columns of Apaches in their war paint and feather bonnets...
...and here was Thursday, leading his men in that heroic charge.
Correct in every detail.
He's become almost a legend already.
He's the hero of every schoolboy in America.
But what of the men who died with him?
- What of Collingworth and... - Collingwood.
Oh, of course, Collingwood.
That's the ironic part of it.
We always remember the Thursdays, but the others are forgotten.
You're wrong there.
They aren't forgotten because they haven't died.
They're living. Right out there.
Collingwood and the rest.
And they'll keep on living as long as the regiment lives.
Pay is $ 13 a month, their diet, beans and hay.
Maybe horsemeat before this campaign is over.
They'll fight over cards or rotgut whiskey but share the last drop in their canteens.
Faces may change...
...and names...
...but they're there.
They're the regiment.
The regular Army.
Now and 50 years from now.
They're better men than they used to be.
Thursday did that.
He made it a command to be proud of.
- The command is formed, sir. - Thank you, sergeant major.
And now it's time to move.
Questions, gentlemen?
- No. - Thank you very much, colonel.
Gentlemen, this is my adjutant, Lieutenant O'Rourke...
...who will take care of you. - Gentlemen.
Mrs. Michael O'Rourke, General Thursday's daughter.
- How do you do. - And the Mrs. O'Rourke.
It's a pleasure, ma'am.
And this is Michael Thursday York O'Rourke...
...the best man in the regiment. Aren't you, you scut?
Forward face.
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