THE AMERICAN REALIZES THAT PROGRESS IS GOD.
THE DESTINY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
IS TO SUBDUE THE CONTINENT,
TO RUSH OVER THIS VAST FIELD TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN,
TO CHANGE DARKNESS INTO LIGHT,
AND CONFIRM THE DESTINY OF THE HUMAN RACE.
DIVINE TASK, IMMORTAL MISSION,
THE PIONEER ARMY PERPETUALLY STRIKES TO THE FRONT.
EMPIRE PLANTS ITSELF UPON THE TRAILS.
WILLIAM GILPIN.
[NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING]
[VOICES ADDED TO CHANTING]
Narrator: BY 1821,
TWO YOUNG REPUBLICS CLAIMED MOST OF THE WEST.
THE VAST TERRITORY THOMAS JEFFERSON HAD BOUGHT FROM FRANCE
GAVE THE UNITED STATES CLAIM TO NEARLY HALF OF IT,
WHILE THE NEWLY ESTABLISHED REPUBLIC OF MEXICO
HELD THE SOUTHWEST AND CALIFORNIA.
ENGLAND STILL HAD OUTPOSTS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST,
WHILE A HOST OF INDIAN NATIONS HELD FAST TO THEIR LANDS
AND CHALLENGED EACH OTHER FOR MORE.
BY 1821, NO ONE KNEW WHO WOULD CONTROL
THE WEST'S SEEMINGLY INFINITE SPACES,
WHAT LANGUAGE WOULD BE DOMINANT, WHOSE GOD WOULD BE WORSHIPPED,
WHAT THE WEST'S DESTINY WOULD BE.
BUT THE AMERICANS WERE ALREADY MOVING WEST,
CONTENT, AT FIRST,
TO MAKE THEIR WAY IN OTHER PEOPLE'S WORLDS.
MOUNTAIN MEN BEGAN IT, FOLLOWING ICY STREAMS
INTO THE ROCKIES IN SEARCH OF FURS.
WHILE OTHERS, WHO CALLED THEMSELVES "LATTER-DAY SAINTS,"
FLED TO THE WEST HOPING TO FIND SANCTUARY.
A DEVOUT, YOUNG WOMAN FROM UPSTATE NEW YORK,
WHO HURRIED WEST TO SAVE THE SOULS OF INDIANS,
IN THE END COULD NOT EVEN SAVE HERSELF.
A TENNESSEE POLITICIAN,
WHOSE CAREER WAS RUINED BY DRINK AND SCANDAL,
WOULD GET A SECOND CHANCE IN THE MEXICAN PROVINCE OF TEJAS.
WHILE A VIRGINIA FAMILY, ACCUSTOMED TO FOLLOWING
A RESTLESS DREAM OF BETTER TIMES OVER THE NEXT HORIZON,
VERY NEARLY DESTROYED ITSELF
TRYING TO REACH THE CONTINENT'S FARTHEST SHORE.
BUT REGARDLESS OF THEIR REASONS FOR GOING WEST,
ONCE THEY GOT THERE, THE AMERICANS SOON DETERMINED
TO MAKE THE WEST--ALL OF IT-- THEIR OWN.
Man: IT IS OUR MANIFEST DESTINY
TO OVERSPREAD THE CONTINENT ALLOTTED BY PROVIDENCE
FOR THE FREE DEVELOPMENT
OF OUR YEARLY MULTIPLYING MILLIONS.
JOHN L. O'SULLIVAN.
Man: AMERICANS' REACH EXCEEDS THEIR GRASP.
AMERICANS CAN'T DO WHAT THEY MIGHT LIKE TO DO,
BUT THE TIME IS COMING.
THIS IS A COUNTRY THAT IS GOING TO GROW MORE AND MORE POWERFUL.
ITS AMBITION IS ALREADY THERE,
AND THERE IS GOING TO COME A TIME BY MID-CENTURY
WHERE, IN FACT, IT CAN FULFILL ITS AMBITION.
AND WHEN THAT TIME IS REACHED,
THE WEST WILL BE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PLACE.
[NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING]
Narrator: ONE WINTER IN THE EARLY 1830s,
A COLD AND HUNGRY MOUNTAIN MAN NAMED JOE MEEK
STUMBLED INTO A LANDSCAPE UNLIKE ANYTHING HE HAD EVER SEEN.
Man as Meek: THE WHOLE COUNTRY WAS SMOKING
WITH THE VAPOR FROM BOILING SPRINGS,
AND BURNING WITH GASES ISSUING FROM SMALL CRATERS,
EACH OF WHICH WAS EMITTING A SHARP WHISTLING SOUND,
LIKE THAT PLACE THE OLD METHODIST PREACHER
USED TO THREATEN ME WITH.
BUT THE WARMTH OF THE PLACE WAS MOST DELIGHTFUL
AFTER THE FREEZING COLD OF THE MOUNTAINS.
SO, IF IT WAS HELL, IT WAS A MORE AGREEABLE CLIMATE
THAN I HAD BEEN IN FOR SOME TIME.
JOE MEEK.
Narrator: IT WAS THE YELLOWSTONE PLATEAU.
AND JOE MEEK WAS ONE OF THE FIRST WHITE MEN TO SEE IT.
BORN IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA,
MEEK, LIKE HUNDREDS OF OTHER YOUNG MEN EAGER FOR ADVENTURE,
HAD RUN OFF TO THE WEST.
HE WOULD SPEND 11 YEARS IN THE MOUNTAINS,
TRAPPING AND TRADING FOR FURS, TRAVELING RELENTLESSLY,
PUSHING INTO CORNERS OF THE WEST HIS COUNTRY DID NOT YET OWN
IN SEARCH OF EASY MONEY.
Man: HATS-- HATS WAS THE NAME OF THE GAME.
THE CARRIAGE TRADE WAS THE THING
THAT SET THE STANDARD OF FASHIONS.
THE CARRIAGE TRADE WAS NOTHING MORE THAN RICH
DRIVING AROUND IN THEIR CARRIAGES
IN BOSTON, OR LONDON, OR PARIS, OR QUEBEC, OR MONTREAL.
AND WHATEVER THEY WORE, EVERYBODY ELSE WANTED TO WEAR.
WELL, THEY WERE WEARING BEAVER HATS,
AND THUS IT MADE A DEMAND FOR BEAVER.
Narrator: INDIANS HAD BEEN EXCHANGING ANIMAL PELTS
FOR EUROPEAN TRADE GOODS FOR MORE THAN TWO CENTURIES.
NOW, COMPANIES REPRESENTING RUSSIA, ENGLAND, MEXICO,
AND THE UNITED STATES WERE LOCKED IN FIERCE COMPETITION
FOR THE WESTERN FUR TRADE
AND HIRED THE MOUNTAIN MEN TO DO THE WORK.
THERE WERE BLACK TRAPPERS AS WELL AS WHITE.
MEN FROM SCOTLAND, ENGLAND, AND MEXICO--
EVEN NATIVE HAWAIIANS.
IN OREGON, A THIRD OF THE TRAPPERS
WERE IROQUOIS AND DELAWARE INDIANS FROM THE EAST.
FRENCH TRAPPERS OUTNUMBERED JOE MEEK
AND HIS FELLOW AMERICANS FOUR TO ONE.
THEY COULD MAKE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS,
BUT THEY USUALLY SQUANDERED IT ALL AT THE YEARLY RENDEZVOUS
WHERE THEY GAMBLED, DRANK,
AND TRADED STORIES ABOUT THEIR EXPLOITS IN THE MOUNTAINS.
Gowans: IT WAS A VERY, VERY DANGEROUS LIFE.
THEY WERE KILLED BY BLACKFOOT INDIANS,
THEY WERE KILLED BY GRIZZLY BEARS,
AND MAYBE MOST DEVASTATING OF ALL,
THEY WERE KILLED BY MOTHER NATURE.
CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE COMING UP OUT OF A STREAM,
SETTING A TRAP IN NOVEMBER,
BUCKSKINS UP TO YOUR ARMPITS IN WATER,
AND WORKING A STREAM ALL DAY LONG
IN THOSE KIND OF CONDITIONS?
THOSE MEN DIED OF FEVER, THEY DIED OF PNEUMONIA.
HOW MANY MEN DIED ON SOME UNKNOWN STREAM
IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, NEVER HEARD OF AGAIN?
YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A COMMON UNDERSTANDING IN THE FUR TRADE.
IF YOU DIDN'T SHOW UP AT A RENDEZVOUS,
YOU WERE CONSIDERED DEAD.
Narrator: DURING MORE THAN A DECADE IN THE MOUNTAINS,
JOE MEEK HAD STRUGGLED ALONGSIDE HIS FELLOW TRAPPERS TO SURVIVE.
HE HAD NARROWLY ESCAPED DEATH AT THE HANDS OF THE BLACKFEET,
TOUCHED ONE GRIZZLY WITH HIS BARE HAND ON A DARE,
AND BEEN MAULED BY ANOTHER.
BUT IN THE END, HE HAD NO MONEY TO SHOW FOR IT ALL,
AND SUDDENLY, HIS LIVELIHOOD HAD DISAPPEARED, TOO.
Gowans: THE DEMAND CEASED FOR BEAVER.
AND THE REASON BEING IS, IS THE CARRIAGE TRADE
CHOSE TO GO WITH SILK HATS INSTEAD OF BEAVER HATS.
I'D SAY BY THE MIDDLE OF THE 1830s,
THE BEAVER TRADE WAS COMING TO AN END.
THERE WAS NO LONGER THE DEMAND.
Narrator: THE ERA OF THE MOUNTAIN MEN HAD ENDED
ALMOST AS QUICKLY AS IT HAD BEGUN.
SOME GUIDED AMERICAN EXPLORERS FANNING OUT ACROSS THE WEST.
OTHERS LED THE GROWING STREAM OF WAGON TRAINS THAT NOW ROLLED
OVER THE TRAILS THE MOUNTAIN MEN HAD HELPED TO CHART.
BUT JOE MEEK HAD HAD ENOUGH OF WANDERING.
HE TOOK HIS NEZ PERCE WIFE AND THEIR CHILDREN
AND WENT ALL THE WAY WEST.
HE SETTLED NEAR A BRITISH TRADING POST
IN THE DISPUTED LAND OF OREGON.
THERE, MEEK WENT INTO POLITICS
AND BEGAN TO TALK WITH OTHER AMERICAN SETTLERS
ABOUT MAKING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
PART OF THE UNITED STATES.
Man as Meek: I WANT TO LIVE LONG ENOUGH
TO SEE OREGON SECURELY AMERICAN,
SO I CAN SAY THAT I WAS BORN
IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, UNITED STATES,
AND DIED IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, UNITED STATES.
JOE MEEK.
Man: WE HAVE MAPS OF THE PAST.
NOT A HISTORY, IN THE WAY THAT MOST OF US UNDERSTAND HISTORY,
BUT PLACES LIKE BEAR BUTTE,
MEDICINE WHEEL, DEVIL'S TOWER.
THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY WITH
IN TERMS OF TIME AND EXPERIENCE.
"OH, YES," MY GRANDMOTHER WOULD SAY,
"WE WERE THERE, WE WERE THERE IN THE BLACK HILLS AT ONE TIME.
WE KNOW ABOUT ZOI, DEVIL'S TOWER."
AND SHE SAID IT, YOU KNOW, AS IF SHE HAD BEEN THERE.
AND I THINK, IN HER MIND'S EYE,
IT WAS THERE AND VERY CLEARLY DEFINED.
[NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING]
Narrator: THE ARRIVAL OF THE HORSE IN THE EARLY 1700s
HAD ALLOWED THE KIOWA TO MIGRATE EASTWARD
FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS OUT ONTO THE GREAT PLAINS.
THEY CLAIMED AS THEIR OWN THE BEST WINTER HUNTING GROUNDS--
THE BLACK HILLS--
AND ITS LANDMARKS BECAME PART OF THEIR RELIGION.
BUT BY THE EARLY 1800s,
NEW PEOPLE HAD ARRIVED FROM THE EAST,
CHALLENGING THE KIOWA FOR THE BLACK HILLS.
THEY WERE THE CHEYENNE.
AND BEHIND THEM CAME THE LAKOTA, KNOWN BY WHITES AS THE SIOUX.
AMONG THE LAKOTA, A MAN NAMED LONE DOG
PAINTED A RECORD OF HIS PEOPLE ON A BUFFALO HIDE,
MARKING EACH WINTER BY DEPICTING WHAT THEY REMEMBERED
MOST VIVIDLY ABOUT THE YEAR JUST PAST.
HE BEGAN AT THE CENTER OF A SPIRAL WITH THE WINTER OF 1800,
WHEN 30 LAKOTA, REPRESENTED BY 30 STRAIGHT LINES,
WERE KILLED IN BATTLE WITH THE CROW.
OVER THE ENSUING WINTERS,
LONE DOG RECOUNTED HORSE RAIDS AND BUFFALO HUNTS...
THE ARRIVAL OF TRADING POSTS, AND OUTBREAKS OF SMALLPOX.
BUT THE EVENTS MOST OFTEN NOTED ON HIS BUFFALO HIDE
WERE THE NUMEROUS WARS HIS PEOPLE FOUGHT
AS THE LAKOTA MOVED WEST--
WITH THE MANDAN, PAWNEE, AND ARAPAHO,
WITH THE BLACK FEET, ASSINBOIN, CROW, AND SHOSHONE.
White: THE BLACK HILLS HAVE AROUND THEM
IN THE LATE 18th AND EARLY 19th CENTURY,
THIS INCREDIBLE SWIRL OF PEOPLE.
THE PEOPLE ARE FIGHTING, CONTESTING FOR BUFFALO GROUNDS,
AND THE DRIVING FIGURES IN ALL THIS
ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE THE LAKOTAS.
THE LAKOTAS ARE PUSHING OTHER PEOPLE OUT.
THE LAKOTAS ARE SPREADING WEST AFTER THE HERDS.
THE LAKOTAS ARE THE PEOPLE IN MOTION.
THE LAKOTAS WEREN'T ALWAYS THERE,
BUT THEY MAKE THE BLACK HILLS THE CENTER OF THEIR WORLD.
Woman: OUR NAME FOR THE BLACK HILLS IS WAMAKAHOGNAKA INCHATE.
[THUNDER RUMBLES]
"INCHATE" IS THE HEART OF.
"WAMAKAHOGNAKA" I TRANSLATE "THE HEART OF EVERYTHING THAT IS"--
EVERYTHING MATERIAL, EVERYTHING SPIRITUAL.
IT'S THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE.
WE WERE A WARRIOR SOCIETY,
AND THAT'S VERY MUCH A PART OF OUR CULTURE.
WE HAVE AN EXPRESSION THAT WHOEVER DIDN'T FEAR US HATED US,
AND WE TOOK GREAT PRIDE IN THE FACT
THAT EVERYONE EITHER HATED US OR FEARED US.
THE CREE PEOPLE IN THEIR STORIES WOULD SAY,
"WHEN THE CROW WERE COMING TO FIGHT,
"WE SENT OUR LITTLE BOYS TO FIGHT.
"WHEN THE MANDAN WERE COMING, WE SENT THE OLD MEN.
"WHEN THE SIOUX WERE COMING, WE PAINTED OUR FACES FOR DEATH
AND PREPARED TO DIE."
Narrator: FOR NEARLY 300 YEARS, SINCE THE DAYS OF CORONADO,
SPANISH-SPEAKING PEOPLE HAD CALLED MUCH OF THE WEST
THEIR HOME.
THEY RAISED VAST HERDS OF CATTLE
IN THE FERTILE VALLEYS OF CALIFORNIA,
BUILT CATHEDRALS AND TOWNS OF ADOBE
ALONG THE RIO GRANDE IN NEW MEXICO.
AND IN THE SPRAWLING NORTHERN PROVINCE OF TEJAS,
WHERE COMANCHES AND KIOWAS CONTROLLED THE OPEN PLAINS,
THEY CLUSTERED AROUND A HANDFUL OF CATHOLIC MISSIONS.
BUT WHEREVER THEY LIVED, THEY FELT NEGLECTED BY MEXICO CITY,
MORE THAN 1,000 MILES AWAY.
Man: THE PEOPLE OF THE FRONTIER WERE, BY AND LARGE,
ANTI-GOVERNMENT, ANTI-INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH.
THEY WERE VERY HAPPY BEING LEFT ON THEIR OWN
TO DEFEND THEIR PROPERTY, TO LIVE THEIR OWN LIFESTYLES
WITHOUT INTERVENTION OF A FAR-OFF GOVERNMENT.
THE SPANISH COLONISTS, THEIR MOTTO WAS--
GOD IS IN HEAVEN, THE POPE IS AT THE VATICAN,
THE KING IS IN MADRID,
THE VICEROY'S IN MEXICO CITY, AND TO HELL WITH YOU.
I'M IN SAN ANTONIO.
Narrator: FOR GENERATIONS, FOREIGNERS HAD BEEN KEPT OUT
OF THE ISOLATED NORTHERN PROVINCES.
THEN, AFTER THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO
WON ITS INDEPENDENCE IN 1821,
IT ANNOUNCED THAT AMERICANS WERE NOW WELCOME IN TEJAS--TEXAS.
Woman: MEXICO HAD HAD WHAT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD PLAN--
HOW TO GET SETTLERS AND COLONISTS INTO TEXAS
TO MAKE SURE IT WAS A SETTLED TERRITORY
THAT THE UNITED STATES WOULD HAVE TO BACK OFF FROM.
THE MEXICAN POPULATION DOESN'T REALLY HAVE A SURPLUS
THAT CAN PROVIDE THAT KIND OF SETTLEMENT.
SO, IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA.
IT'S ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS OF HINDSIGHT WHERE YOU THINK,
"OH, WATCH OUT FOR THIS ONE."
Man: THIS VILLAGE HAS BEEN SETTLED
BY MR. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN,
A NATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES OF THE NORTH.
ITS POPULATION IS NEARLY 200 PERSONS,
OF WHICH ONLY 10 ARE MEXICANS.
THE AMERICANS ARE IN GENERAL, IN MY OPINION,
LAZY PEOPLE OF VICIOUS CHARACTER.
SOME OF THEM CULTIVATE THEIR SMALL FARMS,
BUT THIS TASK THEY USUALLY ENTRUST
TO THEIR NEGRO SLAVES,
WHOM THEY TREAT WITH CONSIDERABLE HARSHNESS.
IN MY JUDGMENT,
THE SPARK THAT WILL START THE CONFLAGRATION
THAT WILL DEPRIVE US OF TEXAS WILL START FROM THIS COLONY.
LIEUTENANT JOSE MARIA SANCHEZ.
Narrator: IN 1821, AN AMBITIOUS EX-NEWSPAPERMAN FROM MISSOURI
NAMED STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
SETTLED 297 AMERICAN FAMILIES-- AND THEIR SLAVES--
ON THE BRAZOS RIVER IN EAST TEXAS.
IN EXCHANGE FOR THE LAND,
THEY AGREED TO CONVERT TO CATHOLICISM
AND SWEAR ALLEGIANCE TO THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO.
UNDER THE SAME TERMS,
MEXICO GRANTED OTHERS THE RIGHT TO SETTLE IN TEXAS.
BUT SOON, THE PLAN BEGAN TO BACKFIRE.
THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN SQUATTERS NOW CAME,
CARVING OUT THEIR OWN HOMESTEADS WITHOUT ANYONE'S PERMISSION.
Woman: I THINK IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY
FOR ADVENTURE FOR THEM.
A LOT OF PEOPLE CAME TO TEXAS
BECAUSE THEY WERE RUNNING FROM THE LAW
OR RUNNING FROM A BAD FAMILY SITUATION, A BAD MARRIAGE.
TEXAS WAS FILLED WITH, SHALL WE SAY, FRINGE SOCIETY.
BUT IT WAS ALSO FILLED WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE
WHO REALLY DID WANT SOMETHING MORE THAN WHAT THEY HAD,
AND THOUGHT THEY MIGHT FIND IT ON THE FRONTIER.
Narrator: DIRT-POOR DEBTORS CAME.
SO DID LAND SPECULATORS, FUGITIVES, LAWYERS...
AND A TALL 39-YEAR-OLD TENNESSEAN
WITH A DECIDEDLY MIXED REPUTATION.
RAISED BY HIS WIDOWED MOTHER
AND INFORMALLY ADOPTED BY THE CHEROKEES,
HE HAD DISTINGUISHED HIMSELF IN THE WAR OF 1812,
SERVED IN CONGRESS, AND WAS NOW GOVERNOR OF TENNESSEE.
MANY ASSUMED THAT HE, LIKE HIS MENTOR ANDREW JACKSON,
WOULD ONE DAY BE PRESIDENT.
HIS NAME WAS SAM HOUSTON.
Richards: I THINK THAT HE WAS PROBABLY
ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT,
THE MOST IRASCIBLE, THE MOST PRINCIPLED,
THE MOST OPINIONATED MAN IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
HE WAS FLAMBOYANT.
HE WORE VESTS THAT WERE FURRY.
AND HE WOULD HAVE ON A JACKET,
AND ON TOP OF THAT AN INDIAN BLANKET.
HE WAS THE FIRST MAN TO WEAR BEADS
ON THE FLOOR OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE.
I LIKE THAT.
Narrator: BUT AFTER HIS YOUNG WIFE ABRUPTLY LEFT HIM,
HOUSTON RESIGNED THE GOVERNORSHIP
WITHOUT EXPLANATION, BEGAN DRINKING HEAVILY,
AND FLED TO LIVE WITH HIS CHEROKEE FRIENDS.
HIS CAREER IN THE UNITED STATES SEEMED OVER.
SAM HOUSTON HEADED FOR TEXAS.
Man: AN EAGLE SWOOPED DOWN NEAR MY HEAD
AND THEN, SOARING ALOFT WITH WILDEST SCREAMS,
WAS LOST IN THE RAYS OF THE SETTING SUN.
I KNEW THAT A GREAT DESTINY WAITED FOR ME IN THE WEST.
SAM HOUSTON.
Narrator: THERE WERE NOW NEARLY 35,000
AMERICAN-BORN IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR SLAVES IN TEXAS--
TEN TIMES THE NUMBER OF SPANISH-SPEAKING TEJANOS.
DESPITE GROWING TENSIONS,
AND DESPITE THEIR MANY DIFFERENCES,
BOTH GROUPS AGREED ON ONE THING--
THEY RESENTED TAKING ORDERS FROM FAR-OFF MEXICO CITY.
THEN IN 1835, GENERAL ANTONIO LOPEZ DE SANTA ANNA
WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT OF MEXICO.
AT FIRST, HE PROMISED TO RESTORE GREATER AUTONOMY TO TEXAS.
INSTEAD, SANTA ANNA DECLARED HIMSELF DICTATOR,
THE "NAPOLEON OF THE WEST,"
AND WHEN TEXANS REBELLED AND TALKED OF INDEPENDENCE,
HE LED AN ARMY NORTH--
5,300 MEN FLYING A BLACK FLAG THAT MEANT NO QUARTER.
Man as Houston: LET EACH MAN COME WITH A GOOD RIFLE
AND 100 ROUNDS OF AMMUNITION-- AND COME SOON.
SAM HOUSTON.
Narrator: BECAUSE OF HIS PAST MILITARY EXPERIENCE,
SAM HOUSTON WAS PUT IN COMMAND OF TEXAN FORCES.
HE CALLED FOR MORE MEN--
FROM TEXAS AND FROM THE UNITED STATES.
IN WASHINGTON, PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON
ORDERED A POLICY OF STRICT NEUTRALITY--
HE WANTED TO BUY TEXAS, NOT FIGHT A WAR OVER IT.
BUT "TEXAS MEETINGS" WERE HELD ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
EAGER YOUNG MEN SIGNED UP BY THE BATTALION.
IN SAN ANTONIO, 146 MEN GATHERED
AT AN OLD SPANISH MISSION CALLED THE ALAMO
TO STOP SANTA ANNA'S ARMY.
HOUSTON BELIEVED THE ALAMO WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO DEFEND
AND ORDERED IT BLOWN UP.
BUT THE MEN INSIDE--
INCLUDING AN ALCOHOLIC ADVENTURER NAMED JIM BOWIE
AND A FORMER TENNESSEE CONGRESSMAN
NAMED DAVY CROCKETT--
DECIDED ON THEIR OWN TO STAY AND FIGHT.
ON FEBRUARY 24, 1836, SANTA ANNA REACHED SAN ANTONIO
AND DEMANDED THAT THE ALAMO'S OCCUPANTS
SURRENDER OR BE ANNIHILATED.
ITS COMMANDER, WILLIAM BARRET TRAVIS,
ANSWERED WITH A CANNON SHOT.
THE MEXICANS SETTLED IN FOR A SIEGE.
TRAVIS SCRIBBLED OUT AN URGENT PLEA FOR REINFORCEMENTS
AND ENTRUSTED IT TO A 30-YEAR-OLD CAPTAIN
OF THE TEXAS ARMY, A TEJANO NAMED JUAN SEGUIN.
HE SLIPPED THROUGH THE MEXICAN LINES
AND DELIVERED THE CALL FOR HELP.
MEANWHILE, IN A RUNDOWN FARMHOUSE
IN THE TINY SETTLEMENT OF WASHINGTON-ON-THE-BRAZOS,
59 MEN, INCLUDING THREE TEJANOS,
DECLARED TEXAS AN INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC
AND HAMMERED OUT A CONSTITUTION
MODELED AFTER THAT OF THE UNITED STATES.
BUT THERE WOULD BE NO REINFORCEMENTS FOR THE ALAMO.
HOUSTON STILL CONSIDERED IT FOLLY FOR HIS OUTNUMBERED ARMY
TO FIGHT SANTA ANNA THERE.
[BUGLE PLAYS]
AT 5:00 A.M., ON THE MORNING OF MARCH 6, 1836,
AFTER 13 DAYS OF SIEGE,
SANTA ANNA'S BUGLER BLEW THE DEGUELLO,
THE SIGNAL FOR DEATH IN THE BULL RING.
2,600 HUNDRED MEXICAN SOLDIERS CHARGED THE ALAMO--
INTO A HAIL OF TEXAN GUNFIRE.
AT LEAST 600 MEXICAN SOLDIERS DIED THAT MORNING--
THOUGH SANTA ANNA WOULD OFFICIALLY ADMIT
TO JUST 70 DEATHS AMONG HIS MEN.
BUT THE ODDS PROVED OVERWHELMING.
IN A MATTER OF HOURS, THE ALAMO WAS TAKEN,
AND IN THE END, ALL ITS DEFENDERS--
AMERICANS AND TEJANOS ALIKE-- LAY DEAD.
Santos: WHAT IS IMPORTANT ABOUT THE ALAMO
IS NOT THE NUMBER OF MEN OR WHO THEY WERE
OR THE VARIOUS PERSONALITIES,
BUT THE FACT THAT THIS SMALL GROUP OF MEN
CHOSE TO DEFEND AN IMPOSSIBLE POSITION
AGAINST A SUPERIOR NUMBER AND HELD IT FOR 13 DAYS.
THEY CHOSE THIS PLACE KNOWING THAT IT WOULD MEAN SURE DEATH.
Narrator: THE KILLING WENT ON.
SANTA ANNA TOOK A SECOND FORT, CALLED GOLIAD.
ITS DEFENDERS WERE "PIRATES," HE SAID,
FOREIGNERS INTENT ON STEALING MEXICAN TERRITORY.
HE ORDERED 300 MEN-- MOST OF THEM AMERICANS--
TO BE SHOT AND THEIR CORPSES BURNED.
Man: OUR GARRISON WAS TAKEN AND MASSACRED.
IF SUCH CONDUCT IS NOT SUFFICIENT TO AROUSE
THE PATRIOTIC FEELINGS OF THE SONS OF LIBERTY,
I KNOW NOT WHAT WILL.
RATHER THAN BE DRIVEN OUT OF THIS COUNTRY,
I WILL LEAVE MY BONES
TO BLANCH ON THE PLAINS OF TEXAS.
PRIVATE G.A. GIDDINGS.
Narrator: SANTA ANNA PUSHED ON.
NOW, ALL THAT STOOD BETWEEN HIM
AND THE DEFENSELESS SETTLEMENTS IN EAST TEXAS
WAS A SMALL, POORLY TRAINED ARMY OF VOLUNTEERS
AND THEIR ERRATIC AND UNPREDICTABLE COMMANDER,
SAM HOUSTON.
Woman: A WAYAKIN IS YOUR GUARDIAN SPIRIT
AND FROM THIS GUARDIAN SPIRIT YOU GET YOUR POWER.
AND I COLLECTED ABOUT 16 OF THEM.
AND THE MOST INTERESTING THAT I HAVE IS THE ONE OF MY FATHER'S,
BECAUSE THERE WERE DIFFERENT ANIMALS
THAT TALKED TO HIM AT THE SAME TIME.
AND EACH ONE OF THEM GAVE HIM THIS CERTAIN THING.
THE CHIPMUNK SAID, "WELL, I'LL GIVE YOU
"A LOT OF GOOD, FAST MOVEMENTS.
YOU WILL BE A QUICK PERSON."
AND THE BADGER SAYS,
"I WILL GIVE YOU STEADFASTNESS. YOU WILL BE STRONG."
AND THE DOG SAID,
"I'M GOING TO GIVE HIM LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP.
I'M GOING TO BE WITH HIM ALL THE TIME."
AND THAT WAS HIS GUARDIAN SPIRIT.
Narrator: BACK IN 1831, FOUR INDIANS,
INCLUDING THREE NEZ PERCE
FROM THE TRIBE WHO HAD HELPED LEWIS AND CLARK
SURVIVE THEIR TIME IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST,
TRAVELED EASTWARD,
OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND ACROSS THE PLAINS,
NEARLY 2,000 MILES TO ST. LOUIS.
THEY HAD COME, THEY SAID,
BECAUSE THEY HAD HEARD OF A BLACK BOOK
THAT GAVE WHOEVER POSSESSED IT ADDITIONAL POWER AND PRESTIGE.
Lawyer: THEY WERE LOOKING FOR THE BIBLE,
AND THEY THOUGHT THAT THEY WOULD GET POWER FROM IT,
JUST LIKE THAT THEY WOULD GET FROM THEIR WAYAKIN.
Narrator: A HIGHLY EMBELLISHED ACCOUNT OF THE INDIANS' JOURNEY
MADE ITS WAY INTO THE PROTESTANT MISSIONARY PRESS.
THE NEZ PERCE, IT SAID, WERE PLEADING FOR SALVATION.
[WOMAN HUMS]
IN THE SPRING OF 1836, A SMALL PARTY OF MISSIONARIES RESPONDED,
AND BEGAN THE LONG TREK FROM MISSOURI
TO THE BRITISH TRADING POST OF FORT VANCOUVER
ALONG A ROUTE THAT WOULD SOON BE CALLED THE OREGON TRAIL.
[HUMMING CONTINUES]
♪ IN THE DESERTS LET ME LABOR ♪
♪ ON THE MOUNTAINS LET ME TELL ♪
♪ HOW HE DIED, THE BLESSED SAVIOR ♪
♪ TO REDEEM A WORLD FROM HELL ♪
♪ LET ME HASTEN, LET ME HASTEN ♪
♪ FAR IN HEATHEN LANDS TO DWELL ♪
Narrator: AMONG THE CHRISTIAN PIONEERS
WERE DR. MARCUS WHITMAN AND HIS YOUNG WIFE NARCISSA,
WHO FROM HER EARLIEST CHILDHOOD
HAD DREAMED OF BECOMING A MISSIONARY.
SHE HAD MARRIED WHITMAN SPECIFICALLY TO GO WEST
AND SPREAD THE WORD OF CHRIST TO THOSE IN NEED OF IT.
Woman: OUR DESIRE NOW IS TO BE USEFUL TO THESE BENIGHTED INDIANS,
TEACHING THEM THE WAY OF SALVATION.
IT IS A GREAT RESPONSIBILITY
TO BE PIONEERS IN SO GREAT A WORK.
IT IS WITH CAUTIOUS STEPS THAT WE ENTER ON IT.
NARCISSA WHITMAN.
Woman: WELL, I DON'T THINK SHE REALLY KNEW
WHAT SHE WAS GOING OUT TO DO IN THE WEST.
SHE HAD GROWN UP READING, CONSUMING VORACIOUSLY
THE LITERATURE OF THE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT OF HER DAY.
AND SHE THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING OUT TO LIVE OUT A SCENARIO
THAT SHE HAD REALLY READ ABOUT.
THAT IS, SHE WOULD ARRIVE, HOPEFULLY BE WELCOMED,
AND SOMEHOW BRING ABOUT THIS MONUMENTAL CONVERSION
OF THE PEOPLE WITH WHOM SHE WORKED.
SHE HAD NO REAL IDEAS AT ALL AS TO WHAT THE WEST WAS LIKE,
OR WHAT MISSIONARY WORK WOULD BE LIKE.
[NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING]
Narrator: WHILE OTHER MISSIONARIES
WENT TO THE NEZ PERCE,
THE WHITMANS SETTLED AT A PLACE CALLED WAIILATPU,
ON THE NORTH BANK OF THE WALLA WALLA RIVER,
IN THE LAND OF THE CAYUSE.
THINGS DID NOT GO WELL FOR THE WHITMANS.
TILOUKAIKT, A CAYUSE CHIEF, WELCOMED THEM,
BUT WONDERED WHY THEY FAILED TO OFFER GIFTS,
AS WAS THE CAYUSE CUSTOM.
HIS PEOPLE COULD NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE WHITMANS INSISTED
THEY MUST COMPLETELY ABANDON THEIR OWN FAITH.
AND THEY WERE INSULTED
WHEN NARCISSA BARRED THEM FROM HER PARLOR.
Woman as Whitman: THE INDIANS SAID
THEY WOULD WORSHIP IN OUR NEW HOUSE.
WE TOLD THEM OUR HOUSE WAS TO LIVE IN,
AND WE COULD NOT HAVE THEM WORSHIP THERE
FOR FEAR THEY WOULD MAKE IT SO DIRTY AND FULL OF FLEAS
THAT WE COULD NOT LIVE IN IT.
Jeffrey: I THINK NARCISSA REALLY DIDN'T LIKE THEM AT ALL,
AND THAT SHE SAW THEM AS EVERYTHING
THAT WAS THE POLAR OPPOSITE OF WHAT SHE LOVED AND VALUED.
THE KINDS OF WORDS THAT SHE USES--
SAVAGE, IGNORANT, LAZY, HEATHENISH--
THE WAY SHE CALLED HER MISSION STATION
A DARK AND SAVAGE PLACE,
GIVE YOU SOME SENSE OF THIS EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
TO PEOPLE WHOM SHE COULDN'T UNDERSTAND,
WHO FRIGHTENED HER, AND WHO WOULDN'T CHANGE
IN THE WAYS THAT SHE REALLY THOUGHT THEY OUGHT TO CHANGE
FOR THEIR OWN GOOD.
Narrator: NARCISSA HAD GIVEN BIRTH TO A DAUGHTER, ALICE.
BUT AT AGE 2, THE LITTLE GIRL DROWNED
IN THE RIVER NEXT TO THE MISSION.
GRIEVING AND LONELY, NARCISSA SOMETIMES
WENT TWO YEARS WITHOUT A LETTER FROM HOME.
EACH DAY SHE AND THE OTHER MISSIONARY WIVES IN THE REGION
PAUSED TO PRAY FOR EACH OTHER AND THEIR FAMILIES.
Jeffrey: I'VE ALWAYS FOUND IT TO BE VERY POIGNANT,
A SIGN OF THEIR LONELINESS, AND HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS,
AND HOW THEY TRIED TO COMMUNICATE WITH ONE ANOTHER
THROUGH THEIR SPIRITS.
Narrator: DURING THEIR FIRST YEARS,
THE WHITMANS MANAGED TO CONVERT ONE SCOTTISH VISITOR,
ONE FRENCH-CANADIAN CATHOLIC,
AND SEVERAL HAWAIIAN LABORERS WHO WORKED FOR THE MISSION.
BUT THEY FAILED TO MAKE A SINGLE CONVERT AMONG THE CAYUSE.
[NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING]
Woman as Whitman: NEVER WAS I MORE KEENLY SENSIBLE
TO THE SELF-DENIALS OF A MISSIONARY LIFE.
EVEN NOW WHILE I AM WRITING,
THE DRUM AND THE SAVAGE YELL ARE SOUNDING IN MY EARS,
EVERY SOUND OF WHICH
IS AS FAR AS THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST
FROM VIBRATING IN UNISON WITH MY FEELINGS.
Man: DEAR FRIENDS, WILL YOU NOT SOMETIME THINK OF ME
ALMOST ALONE IN THE MIDST OF SAVAGE DARKNESS?
GENERAL HOUSTON, SIR,
THE ENEMY ARE LAUGHING YOU TO SCORN.
YOU MUST FIGHT THEM.
YOU MUST RETREAT NO FURTHER.
THE COUNTRY EXPECTS YOU TO FIGHT.
THE SALVATION OF THE COUNTRY DEPENDS ON YOUR DOING SO.
DAVID BURNETT, PRESIDENT OF TEXAS.
Man: AFTER THE ALAMO FELL
AND SANTA ANNA ORDERED ALL THE PRISONERS SHOT,
HE HAD SAID HE WAS GONNA KILL EVERYBODY
THAT'S OPPOSING THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT.
THERE'S TERRIFIC PANIC OVER THE COUNTRY.
AND EVERY FAMILY THAT COULD GOT THEIR BELONGINGS TOGETHER
IN A BUGGY OR A WAGON OR WHATEVER THEY HAD, A HORSEBACK.
SOME DIDN'T HAVE ANY VEHICLES.
WALKING, CARRY WHAT YOU COULD, DRAG IT, OR PUT IT ON A MULE.
AND THE FAMILIES JUST ABANDONED THEIR HOMES.
AND THAT WAS CALLED THE "RUNAWAY SCRAPE."
AND THEY WERE TRYING TO GET ACROSS THE SABINE RIVER
TO GET INTO NEW ORLEANS BEFORE THEY GOT KILLED.
Narrator: THE FLEDGLING GOVERNMENT OF TEXAS
RETREATED TO THE LITTLE TOWN OF HARRISBURG.
THERE, THEY DEMANDED THAT SAM HOUSTON STAND AND FIGHT.
BUT HOUSTON KEPT HIS OWN COUNSEL,
PORING OVER CAESAR'S COMMENTARIES ON WAR,
GNAWING ON THE RAW EARS OF CORN
WITH WHICH HE FILLED HIS SADDLEBAGS.
Man as Houston: HAD I CONSULTED THE WISHES OF ALL,
I SHOULD HAVE BEEN LIKE THE ASS BETWEEN TWO STACKS OF HAY.
I CONSULTED NO ONE. I HELD NO COUNCILS OF WAR.
IF I ERR, THE BLAME IS MINE.
Narrator: HOUSTON AND HIS SMALL ARMY WERE IN FULL RETREAT,
ZIG-ZAGGING ACROSS TEXAS,
KEEPING JUST OUT OF RANGE OF THE ADVANCING MEXICANS.
RUMORS SPREAD THAT ALCOHOL HAD UNDERCUT HIS COURAGE.
SETTLERS JEERED HIM FROM THE ROADSIDE.
Yarborough: AND THE MEN UNDER HIM SAID HE IS A COWARD.
AND SIDNEY SHERMAN, THE COLONEL, TRIED TO REPLACE HIM.
SAM HOUSTON SAID, "ANYBODY THAT TRIES TO REMOVE ME
FROM THIS COMMAND, I'LL EXECUTE HIM ON THE SPOT."
Narrator: FOR MORE THAN A MONTH,
SANTA ANNA PURSUED HOUSTON'S ELUSIVE ARMY.
THEN THE MEXICAN GENERAL MADE A MISTAKE.
HE DIVIDED HIS TROOPS AND VEERED OFF
IN HOPES OF CAPTURING THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT.
HOUSTON SLIPPED UP BEHIND HIM AT A BEND IN A RIVER
CALLED THE SAN JACINTO.
Man as Houston: APRIL 21, 1836.
WE ARE IN PREPARATION TO MEET SANTA ANNA.
IT IS THE ONLY CHANCE OF SAVING TEXAS.
WE GO TO CONQUER.
IT IS WISDOM GROWING OUT OF NECESSITY
TO MEET THE ENEMY NOW.
Narrator: SANTA ANNA'S ARMY
WAS SURROUNDED BY WATER ON THREE SIDES.
HOUSTON'S 800 MEN MOVED INTO POSITION ON THE 4th.
Yarborough: THERE WERE TREES THERE.
HOUSTON HAD MEN UP IN THOSE TREES WATCHING THEM,
AND CALLING DOWN TO HIM WHAT THEY WERE DOING.
HE SAYS, "THE CAVALRY OVER THERE HAVE TAKEN THEIR SADDLES OFF.
"THEY'RE TAKING THEIR HORSES TO DRINK.
"THIS IS SIESTA TIME, IT'S 3:30.
AND MOST OF THE MEXICANS ARE HAVING THEIR SIESTA."
HOUSTON IMMEDIATELY ORDERED THEM TO LINE UP.
Narrator: "TRUST IN GOD AND FEAR NOT!" HE TOLD HIS MEN.
"REMEMBER GOLIAD! REMEMBER THE ALAMO!"
HOUSTON LED THE CHARGE HIMSELF, SWINGING HIS SABER.
HIS HORSE FELL, HIT FIVE TIMES.
HOUSTON CLIMBED ONTO ANOTHER HORSE.
IT, TOO, WAS KILLED.
AND THIS TIME, HOUSTON'S RIGHT LEG
WAS SPLINTERED BY A MUSKET BALL.
BUT SANTA ANNA'S ARMY WAS ON THE RUN.
THE TEXANS AND A COMPANY OF TEJANOS
UNDER JUAN SEGUIN WERE RIGHT BEHIND THEM.
THE FIGHTING LASTED JUST 18 MINUTES...
[GUNS FIRE, HORSES NEIGH]
BUT THE SLAUGHTER WENT ON FOR ANOTHER HOUR.
WHEN IT WAS ALL OVER, 600 MEXICAN SOLDIERS LAY DEAD.
NEARLY 700 MORE HAD SURRENDERED.
THE SURPRISE HAD BEEN SO COMPLETE, THE BLOW SO SUDDEN,
THAT ONLY SIX TEXANS DIED DURING THE BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO.
SANTA ANNA HIMSELF WAS MADE SAM HOUSTON'S PRISONER
AND FORCED TO SIGN A PIECE OF PAPER
CEDING TEXAN INDEPENDENCE.
NOW THERE WERE THREE INDEPENDENT REPUBLICS
IN NORTH AMERICA-- MEXICO, THE UNITED STATES,
AND UNDER PRESIDENT SAM HOUSTON, THE NEW REPUBLIC OF TEXAS.
Man: THE LOSS OF TEXAS WILL INEVITABLY RESULT
IN THE LOSS OF NEW MEXICO AND THE CALIFORNIAS.
LITTLE BY LITTLE, OUR TERRITORY WILL BE ABSORBED
UNTIL ONLY AN INSIGNIFICANT PART IS LEFT TO US.
OUR NATIONAL EXISTENCE WILL END
LIKE THOSE WEAK METEORS THAT FROM TIME TO TIME
SHINE FITFULLY IN THE FIRMAMENT AND DISAPPEAR.
JOSE MARIA TORNEL Y MENDIVIL.
Narrator: IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
OF NOVEMBER 14, 1833,
ONE OF THE LARGEST METEOR SHOWERS IN HISTORY
LIT UP THE NIGHT SKY OVER NORTH AMERICA.
LONE DOG AND HIS LAKOTA BAND
WATCHED IT ON THE NORTHERN PLAINS,
AND REMEMBERED 1833 AS "THE YEAR THE STARS FELL."
ON THE SOUTHERN PLAINS, A LARGE BAND OF KIOWA
WERE CAMPED IN THE WICHITA MOUNTAINS,
WHERE THEY HAD BEEN DRIVEN
WHEN THE CHEYENNE AND LAKOTA TOOK OVER THE BLACK HILLS.
Momaday: AND THEY WERE AWAKENED BY THE LIGHT OF FALLING STARS.
AND THEY RAN OUT INTO THE FALSE DAY
AND WERE TERRIFIED.
THEY THOUGHT THE WORLD WAS COMING TO AN END.
YOU CAN IMAGINE SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPENING
DIRECTLY OVERHEAD, THIS HAVOC IN THE NIGHT SKY.
AND SO IT'S VERY MUCH IN THEIR BLOOD MEMORY.
I THINK THE KIOWAS TOOK THE FALLING STARS AS A SIGN.
IT WAS AN OMEN, AND BAD THINGS FOLLOWED.
YOU CAN START COUNTING THE CATASTROPHES.
[BELL RINGS]
[WOMAN SINGS "AMAZING GRACE" IN NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE]
Narrator: SOON, THE KIOWA NOTICED A NEW PEOPLE
COMING FROM THE EAST, MOVING ONTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS.
THE SETTLERS BUILT TOWNS, CHURCHES, SCHOOLS.
SOME OF THEM OWNED SLAVES.
BUT THESE NEWCOMERS WERE INDIANS, TOO.
CHEROKEE, ONE OF MANY PEOPLES FROM THE EAST
FORCED INTO THE WEST BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
NO EASTERN TRIBE HAD STRUGGLED HARDER
OR MORE SUCCESSFULLY TO MAKE WHITE CIVILIZATION THEIR OWN.
FOR GENERATIONS, THE CHEROKEE HAD LIVED SIDE BY SIDE
WITH WHITES IN GEORGIA.
THEY HAD DEVISED A WRITTEN LANGUAGE,
PUBLISHED THEIR OWN NEWSPAPER,
ADOPTED A CONSTITUTION AND THE CHRISTIAN FAITH.
BUT AFTER GOLD WAS DISCOVERED ON THEIR LAND,
EVEN THEY WERE TOLD
THEY WOULD HAVE TO START OVER AGAIN IN THE WEST.
[SINGING CONTINUES]
Man: MY FRIENDS, CIRCUMSTANCES RENDER IT IMPOSSIBLE
THAT YOU CAN FLOURISH
IN THE MIDST OF A CIVILIZED COMMUNITY.
YOU HAVE BUT ONE REMEDY WITHIN YOUR REACH,
AND THAT IS TO REMOVE TO THE WEST,
AND THE SOONER YOU DO THIS, THE SOONER WILL COMMENCE
YOUR CAREER OF IMPROVEMENT AND PROSPERITY.
ANDREW JACKSON.
Narrator: EARLY IN THE 1830s,
CONGRESS HAD CREATED A HUGE NEW "INDIAN TERRITORY,"
WHICH WAS TO STRETCH FROM TEXAS TO THE MIDDLE MISSOURI RIVER.
IT WAS MEANT TO BE A BARRIER TO WHITE EXPANSION,
A PLACE THE INDIANS WERE PROMISED
THEY WOULD HAVE TO THEMSELVES FOREVER.
Limerick: ANOTHER WAY IN WHICH
THE WEST WAS GOING TO SOLVE
AMERICA'S PROBLEMS WAS THAT
IT LOOKED LIKE THE PLACE
WHERE YOU COULD PUT INDIANS.
THERE'S ALL THAT SPACE.
PUT THEM THERE, MOVE THEM.
MOVE THEM TO THE WEST.
TAKE THEM ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER,
AND POSTERITY CAN FIGURE THIS ONE OUT.
POSTERITY CAN INHERIT OUR DILEMMA.
["AMAZING GRACE" PLAYS]
Narrator: ONE BY ONE,
INDIAN PEOPLES WERE REMOVED TO THE WEST--
THE DELAWARE, OTTAWA, SHAWNEE, AND POTAWATOMI...
THE SAC AND FOX, MIAMI AND KICKAPOO...
THE CHOCTAW, CHICKASAW, CREEK, AND SEMINOLE.
IN ALL, SOME 90,000 INDIANS WERE RELOCATED.
THE CHEROKEE WERE AMONG THE LAST TO GO.
SOME RELUCTANTLY AGREED TO MOVE.
OTHERS WERE DRIVEN FROM THEIR HOMES AT BAYONET POINT.
ALMOST 2,000 OF THEM DIED ALONG THE ROUTE THEY REMEMBER
AS THE "TRAIL OF TEARS."
THE CHEROKEE ARE PROBABLY THE MOST TRAGIC INSTANCE
OF WHAT COULD HAVE SUCCEEDED IN AMERICAN INDIAN POLICY
AND DIDN'T.
ALL THESE THINGS THAT AMERICANS WOULD PROUDLY SEE
AS THE HALLMARKS OF CIVILIZATION
ARE BORNE INTO THE WEST BY INDIAN PEOPLE.
THEY DO EVERYTHING WE ASK EXCEPT ONE THING.
WHAT THE CHEROKEES ULTIMATELY ARE--
THEY MAY BE CHRISTIAN, THEY MAY BE LITERATE,
THEY MAY HAVE A GOVERNMENT LIKE OURS--
BUT ULTIMATELY, THEY'RE INDIAN.
AND IN THE END, BEING INDIAN IS WHAT KILLS THEM.
Man: THE MORMONS ARE A TRIBE OF LOCUSTS THAT STILL THREATENS
TO SCORCH AND WITHER THE HERBIAGE
OF A FAIR AND GOODLY PORTION OF MISSOURI
BY THE SWARM OF EMIGRANTS FROM THEIR PESTILENT HIVE
IN OHIO AND NEW YORK.
SAMUEL OWENS, 1837.
Narrator: THEY CALLED THEMSELVES
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
THE WORLD CALLED THEM THE MORMONS,
AFTER THE BOOK OF MORMON,
WHICH THEIR FOUNDER JOSEPH SMITH SAID HE HAD TRANSLATED
FROM A SET OF GOLDEN PLATES
HE HAD BEEN DIVINELY GUIDED TO DISCOVER.
THE BOOK SAID THAT JESUS CHRIST HAD PREACHED IN AMERICA
AFTER THE RESURRECTION
AND WOULD RETURN WHEN A NEW, TRUE CHURCH WAS ESTABLISHED.
EVERYWHERE THEY WENT, THE MORMONS GATHERED CONVERTS.
AND EVERYWHERE THEY WENT, THEY MADE ENEMIES.
Woman: IF WE WERE OF THE WORLD,
I BELIEVE THAT THE PEOPLE WOULD LOVE US WELL ENOUGH
TO LET US REMAIN SOMEWHERE IN THE STATE.
BUT THEY HATE US, DESPISE US, AND PERSECUTE US.
AND WHEN THEY KILL US,
THEY VERILY THINK THEY DO GOD'S SERVICE.
ELIZABETH HAVEN BARLOW.
Narrator: ANGRY MOBS, WHO CONSIDERED THEM HERETICS,
DROVE THE MORMONS FROM NEW YORK, THEN OHIO, AND THEN MISSOURI,
WHERE THE GOVERNOR HIMSELF ORDERED THEM TO LEAVE THE STATE,
OR BE EXTERMINATED.
IN ILLINOIS, JOSEPH SMITH BOUGHT A SMALL SETTLEMENT,
RENAMED IT NAUVOO, AND TURNED IT
INTO THE SECOND-BIGGEST CITY IN THE STATE.
HE STARTED WORK ON A GREAT TEMPLE,
OUTFITTED HIS OWN PRIVATE ARMY,
BEGAN TO PRACTICE POLYGAMY IN SECRET,
AND ANNOUNCED HE WAS RUNNING
FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
WHEN SMITH DESTROYED THE PRINTING PRESS
OF A MAN WHO DARED CRITICIZE HIM,
HE WAS JAILED
AND THEN MURDERED BY AN ANTI-MORMON MOB.
UNLESS THEY ABANDONED ILLINOIS, HIS FOLLOWERS WERE TOLD,
THE SAME FATE AWAITED THEM.
Man: WE FACE A CRISIS
OF EXTRAORDINARY AND THRILLING INTERESTS,
THE EXODUS OF THE NATION OF THE ONLY TRUE ISRAEL
FROM THESE UNITED STATES
TO A FAR-DISTANT REGION OF THE WEST.
WAKE UP, WAKE UP, DEAR BRETHREN,
TO THE PRESENT, GLORIOUS EMERGENCY
IN WHICH THE GOD OF HEAVEN HAS PLACED YOU
TO PROVE YOUR FAITH BY YOUR WORKS.
BRIGHAM YOUNG.
Narrator: NOW THE MORMONS PINNED THEIR HOPES
ON A BIG VERMONT-BORN CARPENTER NAMED BRIGHAM YOUNG,
ONE OF THE CHURCH'S 12 APOSTLES.
HE HAD READ EXPLORERS' REPORTS
OF THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE
AND SAW IT AS A PERFECT SANCTUARY FOR HIS SAINTS,
SHELTERED BY THE WASATCH MOUNTAINS,
BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF THE UNITED STATES.
HE WOULD TAKE HIS PEOPLE THERE.
IN EARLY 1846, SOME 10,000 LATTER-DAY SAINTS
BEGAN LEAVING THEIR HOMES FOR THE WEST.
Man: ♪ NOW CONCERNING THIS STRANGE PEOPLE ♪
♪ I'M NOW A-GOING TO SING ♪
♪ FOR THE WAY THEY HAVE BEEN TREATED ♪
♪ I THINK IT IS A SIN ♪
♪ SING TITTERY IRE AYE ♪
♪ SING TITTERY IRE OH ♪
♪ THEY'VE BEEN DRIVEN FROM THEIR HOMES ♪
♪ AND AWAY FROM NAUVOO ♪
♪ FOR TO SEEK ANOTHER HOME IN THE WILDERNESS ANEW ♪
♪ SING TITTERY IRE AYE ♪
♪ AND SING TITTERY IRE OH ♪
Man: BRIGHAM YOUNG'S BEEN CALLED AN AMERICAN MOSES,
AND I THINK THAT'S PRETTY ACCURATE.
HE TOOK A PERSECUTED RELIGIOUS SECT,
AND HE TOOK THEM INTO THE WILDERNESS
AND BUILT A NEW PLACE FOR THEM TO LIVE IN THE DESERT.
AND IN GOING THROUGH THESE TRIALS
AS THEY WENT TO THE WEST, IT MADE THE MORMONS
SEE THEMSELVES AS DIVINELY SEPARATED FROM EVERYONE ELSE
AND DIVINELY PROTECTED.
AND BRIGHAM YOUNG IS THE ONE WHO MADE THAT HAPPEN.
Narrator: BY WINTER, THE MORMONS HAD REACHED
THE WEST BANK OF THE MISSOURI RIVER,
BUT THEY WERE STILL NEARLY 1,000 MILES
FROM THEIR DESTINATION.
THERE, THEY BUILT A MAKESHIFT TOWN
THEY CALLED "WINTER QUARTERS,"
WHERE 700 OF THEM DIED IN THE BITTER COLD.
THE NEXT SPRING, BRIGHAM YOUNG HIMSELF LED FORTH
A SMALL GROUP TO SELECT THE SITE ON WHICH ALL WOULD SETTLE.
HE CALLED IT THE PIONEER BAND.
IN LATE JULY, THEY GOT THEIR FIRST GLIMPSE
OF THE VALLEY OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.
Man as Young: WE GAZED WITH WONDER AND ADMIRATION
UPON THE VAST, RICH, FERTILE VALLEY.
THE GRANDEST AND MOST SUBLIME SCENERY
PROBABLY THAT COULD BE OBTAINED ON THE GLOBE.
WE CONTEMPLATED THAT IN NOT MANY YEARS
THE VALLEY WOULD BE CONVERTED INTO ORCHARD,
VINEYARD, GARDENS, AND FIELDS BY THE INHABITANTS OF ZION.
Woman: WE HAVE TRAVELED 1,500 MILES TO GET HERE,
AND I WOULD WILLINGLY TRAVEL 1,000 MILES FARTHER
TO GET WHERE IT LOOKED AS THOUGH
A WHITE MAN COULD LIVE.
Woman: THE MORMON PEOPLE WERE LOOKING FOR ISOLATION
WHERE THEY COULD PRACTICE THEIR SPIRITUAL BELIEFS FREELY.
AND WHEN THEY STEPPED FOOT INTO THE GREAT BASIN,
THEY FOUND THE ISOLATION THEY WERE LOOKING FOR.
YOU CAN IMAGINE GREAT SALT LAKE, SEEING THIS HUGE BODY OF WATER
AND DIPPING DOWN WITH CUPPED HANDS
FOR A DRINK OF REFRESHMENT ONLY TO BE REPULSED.
I THINK THAT APPEALED TO THE MORMONS
BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE WOULD BOTHER THEM.
Narrator: THEIR VERY FIRST DAY IN THE VALLEY,
THE MORMONS DUG A FRESHWATER IRRIGATION DITCH
AND STARTED PLANTING POTATOES.
AND SOON, BRIGHAM YOUNG WAS PACING OFF
THE STREETS AND SQUARES OF THE GREAT CITY
HE PLANNED TO BUILD IN THE DESERT.
Man as Young: WE HAVE BEEN THROWN LIKE A STONE FROM A SLING,
AND WE HAVE LODGED IN THE GODLY PLACE
WHERE THE LORD WANTS HIS PEOPLE TO GATHER.
IF THE LORD SHOULD SAY BY HIS REVELATION
THIS IS THE SPOT,
THE SAINTS WOULD BE SATISFIED IF IT WAS A BARREN ROCK.
Woman: MY FATHER'S NAME WAS HENRY SAGER.
HE MOVED FROM VIRGINIA TO OHIO
AND THEN TO INDIANA AND FROM THERE TO MISSOURI.
IN THE MONTH OF APRIL, 1844,
MY FATHER GOT THE OREGON FEVER, AND WE STARTED WEST.
Narrator: HENRY SAGER HAD MOVED HIS GROWING FAMILY
FOUR TIMES IN AS MANY YEARS,
ALWAYS A LITTLE FARTHER WEST IN SEARCH OF LAND
THAT WAS MORE FERTILE AND LESS EXPENSIVE.
BY 1844, THE SAGERS WERE IN ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI,
RESTLESS AND READY TO MOVE AGAIN.
TWO THOUSAND MILES TO THE WEST WAS THE OREGON COUNTRY.
THE UNITED STATES CLAIMED IT. SO DID GREAT BRITAIN.
BUT THE UNITED STATES HAD THE PEOPLE TO SETTLE IT.
Man: EASTWARD I GO ONLY BY FORCE,
BUT WESTWARD I GO FREE.
THE FUTURE LIES THAT WAY TO ME.
I SHOULD NOT LAY SO MUCH STRESS ON THIS FACT
IF I DID NOT BELIEVE THAT SOMETHING LIKE THIS
IS THE PREVAILING TENDENCY OF MY COUNTRYMEN.
I MUST WALK TOWARD OREGON, AND NOT TOWARD EUROPE.
HENRY DAVID THOREAU.
Narrator: ONE THOUSAND AMERICANS HAD MADE THEIR WAY TO OREGON
IN 1843 ALONE.
TEN THOUSAND MORE WOULD FOLLOW OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
HENRY SAGER WAS DETERMINED TO JOIN THEM.
HE SIGNED ON WITH A GROUP CALLED THE "INDEPENDENT COLONY"--
300 PEOPLE IN 72 WAGONS.
MOST WERE FAMILIES LIKE THE SAGERS AND THEIR SIX CHILDREN.
Jeffrey: MR. SAGER WAS VERY KEEN TO GO WEST.
AND HIS WIFE, NAOMI, WAS PREGNANT.
AND SHE WAS NOT JUST BEGINNING HER PREGNANCY, SHE WAS ALONG.
AND SHE WAS MORE RELUCTANT TO GO.
BUT GO THEY DID WITH ALL THEIR CHILDREN.
Narrator: IN LATE APRIL,
THE INDEPENDENT COLONY CROSSED THE MISSOURI RIVER
AND SET OUT ON THE OREGON TRAIL.
IN WHAT IS NOW EASTERN KANSAS,
SPRING RAINS TURNED THE PRAIRIES TO MUD
AND MADE RIVER CROSSINGS DANGEROUS.
THE CHILDREN, CONFINED TO THEIR COVERED WAGON
FOR MILE AFTER LURCHING MILE, GREW SEASICK.
ONE NIGHT IN CAMP, WHILE WARMING THEMSELVES,
THEY HUDDLED TOO CLOSE TO THE FLAMES,
AND THEIR BEDCLOTHES CAUGHT ON FIRE.
FIVE WEEKS OUT, NAOMI SAGER GAVE BIRTH TO HER SEVENTH CHILD,
A BABY GIRL.
ON JULY 4, THE CARAVAN RESTED
NEAR THE PLATTE RIVER IN NEBRASKA,
AND A YOUNG COUPLE IN THE WAGON TRAIN
USED THE OCCASION TO GET MARRIED.
Woman: THE WEATHER WAS FINE,
AND ALL SEEMED TO ENJOY THEMSELVES.
THERE WERE SEVERAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS IN THE COMPANY,
AND THESE SOUNDED OUT CLEAR AND SWEET ON THE EVENING AIR
WHILE GAY TALK AND MERRY LAUGHTER WENT ON
AROUND THE CAMPFIRE.
CATHERINE SAGER.
Narrator: FARTHER ON, THEY FORDED THE SOUTH PLATTE,
AND HENRY SAGER LOST CONTROL OF HIS OXEN.
THE WAGON OVERTURNED AND NAOMI WAS INJURED,
BUT THEY KEPT GOING.
IN LATE JULY, THEY PASSED CHIMNEY ROCK AND SCOTTS BLUFF
IN WHAT IS NOW WESTERN NEBRASKA.
ONE AFTERNOON, YOUNG CATHERINE, AGE NINE,
TRIED TO HOP OFF THE WAGON.
Woman as Catherine: THE HEM OF MY DRESS CAUGHT ON AN AX HANDLE,
PRECIPITATING ME UNDER THE WHEELS,
BOTH OF WHICH PASSED OVER ME
BEFORE FATHER COULD STOP THE OXEN.
A GLANCE AT MY LIMB DANGLING IN THE AIR AS HE RAN
REVEALED TO HIM THE EXTENT OF THE INJURY I HAD RECEIVED,
AND IN A BROKEN VOICE HE EXCLAIMED,
"MY DEAR CHILD, YOUR LEG IS BROKE ALL TO PIECES!"
Narrator: FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE TRIP,
CATHERINE EITHER RODE IN THE JOLTING WAGON
OR HOBBLED ALONG BESIDE IT ON CRUTCHES.
THEY KEPT MOVING--
BEYOND FORT LARAMIE TO INDEPENDENCE ROCK,
WHERE THE EMIGRANTS CARVED THEIR NAMES
AS PROOF OF THEIR INDIVIDUAL PASSING.
ON AUGUST 23, THE SAGERS' WAGON CROSSED SOUTH PASS
AND THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE.
NOW THEY WERE BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF THE UNITED STATES
AND IN MEXICAN TERRITORY.
OREGON WAS STILL WEEKS AWAY.
A SICKNESS CALLED "CAMP FEVER" STRUCK THE CARAVAN.
TWO WOMEN DIED. THEN A LITTLE GIRL.
THEN HENRY SAGER FELL ILL.
Woman as Catherine: WE CROSSED THE GREEN RIVER AND CAMPED ON THE BANK.
LOOKING UPON ME AS I LAY HELPLESSLY BY HIS SIDE,
HE SAID, "POOR CHILD! WHAT WILL BECOME OF YOU?"
FATHER EXPIRED THE NEXT MORNING
AND WAS BURIED ON THE BANK OF THE GREEN RIVER,
HIS COFFIN HASTILY DUG OUT OF THE TRUNK OF A TREE.
Narrator: FATHERLESS, THE SAGERS PUSHED ON.
AT LAST THEY CROSSED THE BORDER INTO THE OREGON COUNTRY.
BUT ON THE DUSTY TRAIL ALONG THE SNAKE RIVER,
NAOMI, TOO, BECAME DELIRIOUS WITH FEVER.
Woman as Catherine: WE TRAVELED OVER A VERY ROUGH ROAD,
AND SHE MOANED PITIFULLY ALL DAY.
WHEN WE CAMPED FOR THE NIGHT, HER PULSE WAS NEARLY GONE.
SHE LIVED BUT A FEW MOMENTS MORE,
AND HER LAST WORDS WERE,
"OH, HENRY, IF YOU ONLY KNEW HOW WE HAVE SUFFERED!"
Narrator: THE CHILDREN BURIED THEIR MOTHER,
WRAPPED IN A BEDSHEET, IN A SHALLOW GRAVE ALONG THE TRAIL,
WITH WILLOW BRUSH AND A WOODEN HEADBOARD TO MARK THE SPOT.
Woman as Catherine: THE TEAMS WERE THEN HITCHED TO THE WAGON
AND THE TRAIN DROVE ON,
LEAVING HER TO HER LONG SLEEP.
THUS, IN 26 DAYS BOTH OUR PARENTS WERE LAID IN THE GRAVE,
AND WE WERE ORPHANS--
THE OLDEST, 14 YEARS OLD, AND THE YOUNGEST, 5 MONTHS OLD.
Jeffrey: AND THERE WERE THESE SEVEN CHILDREN
LEFT WITHOUT ANY RELATIVES IN THE WORLD.
THE WORD "ORPHAN" IS ALMOST INSUFFICIENT
TO DESCRIBE THEIR SITUATION.
AND OF COURSE, THE OTHER THING TO REMEMBER ABOUT THEM
IS THAT THERE WAS NO ONE IN THE WEST WAITING FOR THEM.
SO THESE CHILDREN WERE JUST ALONE.
Narrator: IT WAS NOW LATE SEPTEMBER,
AND THE FIRST SNOWS WERE FALLING IN THE MOUNTAINS.
UNDER THE CARE OF OTHER FAMILIES IN THE WAGON TRAIN,
THE SEVEN SAGER CHILDREN PRESSED ON.
[NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING]
IN EARLY OCTOBER, THEY REACHED CAYUSE COUNTRY.
ONE MEMBER OF THE CARAVAN RODE AHEAD
TO THE MISSION RUN BY MARCUS AND NARCISSA WHITMAN
TO TELL THEM THAT A NEEDY WAGON TRAIN WAS APPROACHING
AND TO TALK WITH THEM ABOUT ADOPTING THE SAGER CHILDREN.
Woman as Whitman: APPLICATION HAS BEEN MADE FOR US TO TAKE
AN ORPHAN FAMILY OF SEVEN CHILDREN,
AS THEY HAVE NOT A RELATIVE IN THE COMPANY.
WHAT WE SHALL DO I CANNOT SAY.
WE CANNOT SEE THEM SUFFER, IF THE LORD CASTS THEM UPON US.
NARCISSA WHITMAN.
Narrator: SINCE HER OWN DAUGHTER'S DEATH,
TO EASE HER GRIEF,
NARCISSA HAD TAKEN IN FOUR OTHER CHILDREN,
INCLUDING THE DAUGHTER OF THE MOUNTAIN MAN, JOE MEEK.
Jeffrey: FOR NARCISSA, THE DEATH OF HER DAUGHTER, ALICE,
WAS THE BEGINNING OF A REAL COLLAPSE,
A PHYSICAL AND A PSYCHOLOGICAL BREAKDOWN.
AND THEN, WHEN THE SAGER CHILDREN ARRIVE,
IT'S REALLY HER SALVATION.
SHE CAN RE-CREATE A VERY SATISFYING DOMESTIC LIFE
AND REALLY TURN HER BACK ON THE REAL MISSION WORK
THAT SHE CAME OUT TO DO.
Woman as Whitman: HUSBAND THOUGHT WE COULD GET ALONG
WITH ALL BUT THE BABY.
HE DID NOT SEE HOW WE COULD TAKE THAT.
BUT I FELT THAT IF I MUST TAKE ANY,
I WANTED HER, AS A CHARM TO BIND THE REST TO ME.
Narrator: THE WHITMANS SENT WORD BACK TO THE WAGON TRAIN
THAT THEY WOULD TAKE ALL SEVEN.
A FEW DAYS LATER, AFTER 6 MONTHS AND 2,000 MILES,
HENRY AND NAOMI SAGER'S CHILDREN
FINALLY REACHED THEIR NEW HOME IN OREGON.
NARCISSA WHITMAN CAME OUT TO MEET THEM FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Woman as Catherine: SHE WAS A LARGE, WELL-FORMED WOMAN,
FAIR COMPLEXIONED,
WITH BEAUTIFUL AUBURN HAIR, NOSE RATHER LARGE,
AND LARGE GRAY EYES.
SHE HAD ON A DARK CALICO DRESS AND A GINGHAM SUNBONNET.
WE THOUGHT, AS WE SHYLY LOOKED AT HER,
THAT SHE WAS THE PRETTIEST WOMAN WE HAD EVER SEEN.
Duncan: AMERICANS STARTED MOVING WEST
FOR ALL THESE INDIVIDUAL, PERSONAL REASONS--
LAND, CONVERTING INDIANS, FURS.
BUT EVERYWHERE THEY WENT, THE END RESULT WAS
THEY WANTED TO MAKE IT INTO THE UNITED STATES.
IT DIDN'T MATTER WHY THEY WENT,
ONCE THEY GOT THERE THEY DECIDED,
"THIS PLACE SHOULD BE PART OF THE UNITED STATES,"
AND IN DOING SO, THEY BROUGHT THE NATION WITH THEM.
THE NATION DIDN'T SEND THEM OUT.
THEY BROUGHT THE UNITED STATES WITH THEM.
Man: THE CALIFORNIOS INHABIT A COUNTRY
EMBRACING 400 OR 500 MILES OF SEACOAST
WITH SEVERAL HARBORS,
WITH FINE FORESTS IN THE NORTH,
THE WATERS FILLED WITH FISH,
AND THE PLAINS COVERED WITH THOUSANDS OF HERDS OF CATTLE.
BLESSED WITH A CLIMATE THAN WHICH THERE CAN BE NO BETTER
IN THE WORLD.
IN THE HANDS OF AN ENTERPRISING PEOPLE,
WHAT A COUNTRY THIS MIGHT BE.
RICHARD HENRY DANA.
Narrator: BY THE MID-1840s,
LURED BY REPORTS OF FERTILE SOIL AND A HEALTHY CLIMATE,
SOME 3,000 AMERICAN SETTLERS HAD FILED
THROUGH THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS
AND DOWN INTO CALIFORNIA'S SACRAMENTO VALLEY.
THE COMMANDER OF ALL MEXICAN TROOPS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA,
MARIANO GUADALUPE VALLEJO, BEGGED MEXICO CITY
FOR THE SOLDIERS HE KNEW WOULD BE NECESSARY
TO KEEP THE AMERICANS OUT.
VALLEJO BELONGED TO ONE OF THE OLDEST SPANISH FAMILIES
IN THE AMERICAS.
MOST OF THE SONOMA VALLEY,
A QUARTER OF A MILLION ACRES, BELONGED TO HIM.
BUT DESPITE HIS POSITION,
THE GOVERNMENT IGNORED HIS PLEAS FOR TROOPS.
IT SEEMED TO VALLEJO AND HIS FELLOW CALIFORNIOS
THAT MEXICO CITY WAS AS DISTANT AND ARBITRARY
AS IT HAD BEEN TO THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS.
HE NOW FOUND HIMSELF EMBROILED IN REVOLTS AND COUNTERREVOLTS
AND INCREASING CALLS FOR CALIFORNIA'S INDEPENDENCE.
FINALLY, THE LEADING CALIFORNIOS GATHERED IN MONTEREY
TO DISCUSS THEIR FUTURE.
ONE MAN FAVORED ANNEXATION BY FRANCE,
SINCE IT WAS A CATHOLIC COUNTRY.
ANOTHER THOUGHT CALIFORNIA SHOULD JOIN THE BRITISH EMPIRE.
STILL OTHERS CALLED FOR A REPUBLIC OF CALIFORNIA.
VALLEJO HAD COME TO A DIFFERENT CONCLUSION.
Man as Vallejo: TO RELY ANY LONGER UPON MEXICO TO GOVERN
AND DEFEND US WOULD BE IDLE AND ABSURD.
WHY SHOULD WE SHRINK FROM INCORPORATING OURSELVES
WITH THE UNITED STATES,
THE HAPPIEST AND FREEST NATION IN THE WORLD,
DESTINED SOON TO BE THE MOST WEALTHY AND POWERFUL?
WHEN WE JOIN OUR FORTUNES TO HERS,
WE SHALL NOT BECOME SUBJECTS, BUT FELLOW CITIZENS.
MARIANO GUADALUPE VALLEJO.
Man as Houston: THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS HAVE,
WITH A UNANIMITY UNPARALLELED,
DECLARED THAT THEY WILL BE REUNITED
TO THE GREAT REPUBLICAN FAMILY OF THE NORTH.
WE ARE CHEERED BY THE HOPE THAT THEY WILL RECEIVE US
AND HAIL US WELCOME INTO THE GREAT FAMILY OF FREEMEN.
SAM HOUSTON, PRESIDENT, REPUBLIC OF TEXAS.
Narrator: SAM HOUSTON HAD ALWAYS ASSUMED
THAT TEXAS WOULD BECOME A STATE
WITHIN A FEW MONTHS OF HIS VICTORY AT SAN JACINTO.
BUT FOR SEVEN YEARS,
CONGRESS REFUSED TO GRANT STATEHOOD TO TEXAS.
THE NORTHERN STATES FEARED ITS ADMISSION
WOULD TIP THE PRECARIOUS BALANCE OF POWER
TOWARD THE SLAVE STATES.
THEN IN 1844, JAMES KNOX POLK WAS NARROWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT.
HE WAS A HUMORLESS, HARD-WORKING DEMOCRAT FROM TENNESSEE,
UTTERLY DETERMINED TO EXPAND THE UNITED STATES.
WITH HIS SUPPORT, AND A COMPROMISE
DEFTLY SIDESTEPPING THE ISSUE OF SLAVERY,
THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS BECAME THE 38th STATE IN THE UNION.
SAM HOUSTON WAS NAMED ITS FIRST SENATOR.
PRESIDENT POLK NOW TURNED HIS ATTENTION
TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.
HE THREATENED BRITAIN WITH WAR UNLESS IT GAVE UP ITS CLAIM,
THEN SHREWDLY NEGOTIATED AN AGREEMENT
THAT ADDED WHAT ARE NOW OREGON, WASHINGTON, AND IDAHO
TO THE UNION.
BUT POLK WAS STILL NOT SATISFIED.
HE NOW WANTED NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA,
AND WHEN MEXICO REFUSED TO SELL THE PROVINCES,
HE USED A BORDER SKIRMISH ALONG THE RIO GRANDE
TO PERSUADE CONGRESS TO DECLARE WAR.
[EXPLOSION]
[GUNSHOTS]
THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR LASTED MORE THAN A YEAR AND A HALF,
A BLOODY STRUGGLE THAT COST THOUSANDS OF LIVES
AND ENDED ONLY WHEN AMERICAN TROOPS
FINALLY STORMED INTO MEXICO CITY.
IN LESS THAN A DOZEN YEARS,
MEXICO HAD LOST HALF ITS TERRITORY.
THE UNITED STATES HAD GROWN BY MORE THAN A THIRD.
IN TEXAS, JUAN SEGUIN,
WHO HAD FOUGHT AS HARD AS ANY MAN FOR INDEPENDENCE,
WAS FALSELY ACCUSED OF BEING MORE LOYAL TO MEXICO
THAN TO TEXAS.
HE WAS FORCED TO SLIP SOUTH ACROSS THE BORDER,
"TO SEEK REFUGE," HE MOURNED, "AMONGST MY ENEMIES."
IN CALIFORNIA,
MARIANO VALLEJO'S DREAMS OF A PEACEFUL ANNEXATION HAD ENDED
WHEN AMERICAN SQUATTERS ARRESTED HIM IN HIS OWN HOUSE.
Man as Vallejo: OUR RACE, OUR UNFORTUNATE PEOPLE,
WILL NOW HAVE TO WANDER IN SEARCH OF HOSPITALITY
IN A STRANGE LAND.
THE NORTH AMERICANS HATE US, THEIR SPOKESMEN DEPRECATE US,
AND THEY CONSIDER US UNWORTHY
TO FORM WITH THEM ONE NATION AND ONE SOCIETY.
[NATIVE AMERICAN CHANTING]
[CHANTING CONTINUES]
Narrator: AFTER 10 YEARS IN OREGON,
MARCUS AND NARCISSA WHITMAN HAD LARGELY ABANDONED THEIR WORK
AMONG THE INDIANS,
IN FAVOR OF HELPING THE WAGON TRAINS
THAT NOW ROLLED CEASELESSLY ACROSS CAYUSE LANDS.
Jeffrey: I THINK THAT THE CAYUSE HATED NARCISSA.
AND I THINK THAT WHEN NARCISSA TURNED HER BACK ON THE INDIANS,
AND WHEN SHE DEALT WITH THEM AS STERNLY AS SHE DID, WITH,
I THINK, FROM HER PERSPECTIVE, WITH ALL THE RIGHT MOTIVES--
YOU HAD TO TELL PEOPLE WHO WERE GOING TO HELL
THEY WERE GOING TO HELL--
THAT THEY CAME TO REALLY DESPISE HER.
WAY BACK IN THE EARLY FORTIES,
THE INDIANS STARTED TELLING THE WHITMANS TO LEAVE.
"WE DON'T LIKE TO HEAR THIS BAD TALK. LEAVE."
THE WHITMANS DIDN'T GO.
Narrator: THREE YEARS AFTER THE SAGER CHILDREN ARRIVED,
MEASLES, CARRIED WEST WITH THE EMIGRANT TRAINS,
SWEPT THROUGH THE CAYUSE VILLAGES.
HALF THE TRIBE DIED, INCLUDING MOST OF THE CHILDREN.
DESPITE MARCUS WHITMAN'S NURSING,
RUMORS CIRCULATED AMONG THE GRIEVING CAYUSE
THAT HE WAS SECRETLY SPREADING THE DISEASE,
NOT TRYING TO CURE IT.
ONE AFTERNOON, THREE CAYUSE APPEARED AT THE DOOR
AND ASKED TO SEE WHITMAN.
ONE OF THEM WAS THE CHIEF, TILOUKAIKT.
HE HAD ONCE SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED ACCEPTING THE CHRISTIAN FAITH,
BUT NOW HE HAD LOST THREE CHILDREN
TO THE WHITE MAN'S SICKNESS.
WHEN HE GOT INSIDE THE HOUSE,
HE AND THE OTHERS SHOT AND HACKED MARCUS WHITMAN TO DEATH.
Woman as Catherine: MOTHER WAS STANDING LOOKING OUT AT THE WINDOW
WHEN A BALL CAME THROUGH THE BROKEN PANE,
ENTERING HER RIGHT SHOULDER.
SHE CLAPPED HER HAND TO THE WOUND AND FELL BACKWARDS.
SHE NOW FORGOT EVERYTHING
BUT THE POOR, HELPLESS CHILDREN DEPENDING ON HER,
AND SHE POURED OUT HER SOUL IN PRAYER FOR THEM.
"LORD, SAVE THESE LITTLE ONES!" WAS HER REPEATED CRY.
Narrator: THE CAYUSE WARRIORS CARRIED THE WOUNDED NARCISSA
OUT OF THE HOUSE ON A SETTEE,
KILLED HER, THEN LASHED HER DEAD FACE.
THEN THEY SET THE HATED MISSION BUILDINGS ON FIRE.
BESIDES MARCUS AND NARCISSA,
11 OTHER WHITES WERE KILLED BEFORE IT WAS OVER,
INCLUDING THE TWO SAGER BOYS.
JOE MEEK'S DAUGHTER,
SICK WITH MEASLES AT THE TIME OF THE MASSACRE,
DIED SOON AFTERWARDS.
SO DID HANNAH SAGER, AGE SIX.
THE FOUR SURVIVING SAGER GIRLS WERE ORPHANS ONCE MORE.
[GUNSHOTS]
FRONTIER MILITIA PURSUED THE CAYUSE INTO THE MOUNTAINS.
FINALLY, FIVE CAYUSE WARRIORS, INCLUDING TILOUKAIKT,
TURNED THEMSELVES IN
SO THAT THE REST OF THEIR PEOPLE WOULD NOT BE HUNTED DOWN.
BEFORE HE WENT TO THE GALLOWS,
SOMEONE ASKED TILOUKAIKT WHY HE HAD SURRENDERED.
"DID NOT YOUR MISSIONARIES TEACH US
THAT CHRIST DIED TO SAVE HIS PEOPLE?" HE ANSWERED.
"SO WE DIE TO SAVE OUR PEOPLE."
Woman as Catherine: SURELY IF THE WAY OF THE PIONEER IS HARD
AND BESET WITH DANGERS,
AT LEAST THE LONG YEARS BRING AT LAST THE REALIZATION
THAT LIFE, PATIENTLY AND HOPEFULLY LIVED,
BRINGS ITS OWN SENSE OF HAVING BEEN PART OF THE ONWARD MOVE
TO BETTER THINGS,
NOT FOR SELF ALONE, BUT FOR OTHERS.
Narrator: CATHERINE SAGER, WHO HAD SURVIVED THE MASSACRE,
WOULD REMAIN IN OREGON,
WHERE SHE MARRIED A METHODIST MINISTER
AND BORE HIM EIGHT CHILDREN,
ONE MORE THAN HER MOTHER, NAOMI, HAD BROUGHT INTO THE WORLD.
ON JULY 4, 1848, IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,
THOUSANDS TURNED OUT TO SEE PRESIDENT POLK
LAY THE CORNERSTONE OF A NEW MONUMENT,
A GIANT STONE SHAFT
MODELED AFTER THE OBELISKS OF ANCIENT EGYPT
TO HONOR THE NATION'S FIRST PRESIDENT.
GEORGE WASHINGTON'S AMERICA HAD ENDED AT THE MISSISSIPPI.
BUT NOW, AS POLK SPOKE TO THE CROWD,
THE AMERICAN FLAG FLEW OVER THE ALAMO IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS,
ABOVE THE PALACE OF THE GOVERNORS IN SANTA FE,
OVER A GROWING MORMON SETTLEMENT IN THE GREAT SALT LAKE VALLEY,
AT SPANISH RANCHES IN SONOMA, CALIFORNIA,
AND NEAR THE RUINS OF THE WHITMAN MISSION
IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.
POLK'S NATION WAS A CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES
THAT STRETCHED FROM SEA TO SEA,
AND NOW ENCOMPASSED THE WEST.
IN ONLY A GENERATION, BY ENTERPRISE AND INTIMIDATION,
BY SACRIFICE AND BY OUTRIGHT CONQUEST,
AMERICANS HAD SEIZED IT ALL.
[MARCHING BAND PLAYS]
[CROWD CHEERING]
BACK IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL,
STANDING NEXT TO THE PRESIDENT AT THE CEREMONY,
WAS THE OLD MOUNTAIN MAN, JOE MEEK.
HIS FONDEST WISH HAD COME TRUE.
BORN IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA,
HE WAS NOW THE SHERIFF OF A BRAND-NEW WASHINGTON COUNTY,
IN OREGON TERRITORY.
A MONTH LATER, EVEN MORE GOOD NEWS ARRIVED
FROM THIS NEWEST SECTION OF THE COUNTRY.
IN CALIFORNIA, ON A STREAM NAMED THE AMERICAN RIVER,
GOLD HAD BEEN DISCOVERED.
NOTHING IN THE WEST WOULD EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.