At the gallop, ho!
Fort Laramie.
Starring Raymond Burr as Captain Lee Quince.
Specially transcribed tales of the dark and tragic ground of the wild frontier.
The saga of fighting men who rode the rim of empire.
And the dramatic story of Lee Quince, Captain of Cavalry.
Back up there, come on.
Now stand there easy before I take an ocean to stand you with a club.
Oh my, my. You're just a natural born horseman, ain't you Yeats?
Yeah, horses.
I ride a do squat chores in the barracks and turn off this blast of stable duty.
Hold still there.
How'd you ever happen to join up in the cavalry anyhow?
Of course you ride every place, that's what they told me.
Sure you ride.
The time a man gets through babying up his horse, he's too old fired and tired to walk.
Well, maybe you just ain't doing it right.
Curring them the way the sergeant said, no, ain't I?
I'll carry them right down the ground and then clean up their hooves.
All right, stand still there, you miserable.
Clean up their hooves.
Ain't nobody taking care of my feet in this army.
Why, there's no call for it, Yeats.
You ride every place.
Yeah, sure, sure I ride and then I ride back.
And I got the calluses to prove it.
You know, if I was...
Hey.
Look over there at Jobie.
Jobie Turler?
Yeah.
Oh, he's just talking to his horse again.
He's all the time doing that.
He must be about half horse himself.
Oh, Jobie's all right.
Hey, Jobie, what are you telling her?
The one about the ancient princess and the corporal?
I...
Well, oh, I'm sorry, Yeats, I guess I wasn't listening.
Well, then how about loan me a char of tobacco?
I can't. I'm clean out.
You sure got out mighty fast.
I seen you with a plug of red mule in your hand.
Oh, that ain't mine.
What I mean is, it ain't for me.
And who is it for?
Well, it's for the mayor. It's Belle's.
Why?
She's used to it, Yeats.
She always gets a char after her morning feed.
And I only just got enough to last her until payday.
A horse.
Getting her daily char pretty is a pleasure to me going without.
Well, you know, it's good for her, Yeats.
It keeps her cleaned out real good.
Besides, I'm going without, too. I got none for myself.
Just what kind of man are you, Jobie,
doing more for a horse than you do for the human race?
I'm sorry, Yeats.
It's no wonder you ain't got a friend in the company.
I don't need no friends.
Only time I got them is when they want some tobacco.
Go on, keep your tobacco. Save it for that jughead of yours.
Lay off of me, Yeats.
Hey, what you gonna do when they shoot her, Jobie?
What?
First time old Doc gets a good look at her,
that's what's gonna happen.
You've been long overdue for a remount, Jobie.
Ain't no vet gonna take Belle.
Me and her staying together.
He already got his eye on her.
She was trotting lame yesterday. I prayed I seen her myself.
Shut up, Yeats. You hear? You shut your mouth.
Kill anybody tries to take her.
Ain't you a fright now.
Engines hear you talking that way,
they all gonna find Mr. Kennedy.
Come on, Yeats. Let's go water the mounds.
What if Captain Quince tells you to get rid of her, Jobie?
You gonna kill him too?
He's not gonna tell me.
Old Doc, he only makes a report.
It's the captain who puts out the list.
Hey, Jobie, what you gonna do if Captain Quince puts you on a remount order?
Yeats, there ain't nobody gonna take Belle away.
Well, in a way, it's a routine patrol, and in a way, it's not.
Hand me that map there behind you, Sergeant.
Yes, sir. This one, Captain?
Yeah. Yeah, roll it out there on the table.
All right. That's good. Let's see now.
Sure a lot of empty spaces on it.
One of them is where we're going. Yeah, right in here.
Broken plains country.
We'll move northwest out of Laramie as far as the Great Bow bend,
then due west till we pick up the east fork of the Platte, wherever that is.
Nobody's got around to mappin' it yet.
We taking a surveyor, Captain? No, not this time.
All right, we'll follow the Platte south to about here, then swing back in.
The route will depend on what we find.
Well, at least we won't find trouble.
Not a tribe within miles of there. No. Not now.
I don't follow you, Captain.
The Dove clan is getting restless. They could be fixing to break treaty.
If they do, Fort Fetum can't hold them.
They'll come right through the broken plains to join up with Limp and Fox
and his Cheyenne and the Black Hills.
We might be campaigning in that country before the summer's over, Gorse.
Yes, sir.
This is reconnaissance. Water holes, nature of the terrain, so on.
I'm taking Lieutenant Sybert, you, Corporal Dittman, and whatever troopers you've picked.
I've got the list right here, Captain. Good.
We'll move out at dawn. I'm figuring about six days...
You can't do it, sir. You just can't do it.
You come to attention, soldier?
Just what are you doing in the orderly room, soldier?
Private Jobie Turler. I want to talk to the Captain.
How long you been in the Army, Turler?
Sergeant, it's my third hitch.
Has anybody ever told you how to request an audience with a commanding officer?
Permission in the first, Sergeant.
All right. Then why did you come busting in here this way?
Well, there wasn't time, Sergeant. I got to talk to the Captain right away. I just got to...
Sergeant. Yes, sir.
Sergeant, is Private Turler requesting an audience?
It sort of seems that way, sir.
Then it's granted. At ease, soldier.
Yes, sir.
Hmm. Turler.
Second platoon, around 10 years service, all in cavalry.
That's right, sir.
I've always wondered about that first name of yours, Jobie.
Well, that's scriptural, Captain. It's really Job.
I see.
Well, what was it you had to see me about, Turler?
Yes, sir. The remount order, sir. The list just been posted. I'm on it, Captain.
That's all?
You just can't do it. Me and her, we've been together since our first come with the second.
And Belle, she ain't just another amount. She's a lot more than that.
Well, she is to me. I mean...
Oh, wait a minute. Am I to take it your horse has just been cashiered?
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Bella Shannon. She's on the order, sir.
Have you got that vet's report handy, Sergeant?
Here you are, sir.
Hmm.
Belle Shannon, Chestnut Mayor, stall A4,
Breeder, Port Raleigh Remount Service, fold in.
You know how old that horse is, Turler?
Well, she ain't old at all, sir.
She's 11.
Well, but some horses is different from others, Captain.
You ought to see her on the march. She's friskier in the young cold.
The report says she was lame on parade this week.
Oh, that wasn't nothing but a stone, Bruce, Captain Quince.
Yes, sir. A little rock worked up in the frog. I took it right out.
She's as good as ever, sir. There ain't nothing wrong with her legs.
No, sir, not at all, sir.
Well, she's 11 years old.
But, Captain...
Captain, you can't send her away.
All right, Turler.
Understand I'm not promising anything,
but I'll take her off the order for the present.
And I'll consider the matter further.
Thank you, Captain.
It's all, Turler.
Yes, sir.
Sir.
Thank you.
I had him on that list to go with us, Captain.
No, no, fine.
How does he get along with the other men, Sergeant?
He keeps to himself mostly. He does his job all right.
I see.
May I say something, Captain?
Go ahead.
I know how you feel, sir, but you gotta do it.
That horse is 11 years old. She's showing lame.
What's there to consider?
Nothing much.
Just how to go about cutting out a man's heart
without hurting him too bad.
Hey, Krahm.
Hell?
You ever been in Africa?
Sure, I've been in Africa.
In every place there is to be.
Why do you want to know about it?
How hot you get over there?
Oh, 120 maybe.
More in some parts.
Well, then I'm right.
It's just what I think.
What's what you figured?
We done gone and taken a long turn back there somewhere.
We are in Africa, Krahm.
Last night in camp, you was belly-aching about the cold.
And there you are.
Freezes you to death at night, burns you up in the daytime.
Boy can't puzzle me out what the government wants
with a country like this.
Well, ain't you heard the news, Yates?
What news?
The devil's getting overcrowded.
He's aiming to put in an annex out here.
That's so.
Well, here comes Captain.
Captain?
What is it?
Well, sir, me and Kral was just saying, Captain,
is this your mighty poor country to fight over?
You think so?
Yeah.
And it ain't the friendliest place we've been, sir.
Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, soldier.
For the next few years, you got a home in the Army.
Yes, sir.
Captain Quince.
What is it, Mr. Cybert?
We got some trouble at the rear of the column, sir.
Huh?
Patrol!
Hold!
Come on, Gorse.
Yes, sir.
What?
What kind of trouble, Mr. Cybert?
Private Turner's Mount's starting to show lame, Captain.
I see.
I reckon it don't amount to nothing, sir.
It may be that there's stone brews again.
Well, let's take a look.
Ah, easy, girl, easy.
See, he was favoring that left foreleg, Captain.
Yeah, I see.
Hmm.
It's hot, fevered.
And it's starting to fill.
It's a poor lieutenant, Captain.
There's no question about it.
Well, Captain, sir, it ain't so bad.
I can wrap that...
No, I agree with Sergeant Gorse.
It's a tendon, no doubt of it.
Mr. Cybert.
Yes, sir.
How do we stand?
Well, steady on the pace, sir.
We're an hour and a half from tonight's bivouac,
an hour and a half from sundown.
I see.
Corporal!
Yes, sir.
Corporal, you were out in the point earlier.
What's around us here?
Mostly open, a little rolling, a few cutbacks.
General Falls to the south,
and the water course there to the west.
Yeah, how far?
Oh, about 20 minutes, sir.
30 maybe, with a lame horse.
Water and forage?
Yes, sir, plenty.
No steady flow, but a lot of pools.
There's a high bank on the far side
and a heavy sweet grass all along the stream bed.
Yeah, thank you, Corporal.
That's all.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Cybert.
Yes, sir.
We'll bear west and bivouac at the water course.
Right, sir.
All right, Sergeant.
Move him at a walk.
Yes, sir.
You see, I can plaster that leg with mud tonight, Captain.
She'll be all right in the morning.
Well, we'll see.
I'm sorry, sir.
So am I, soldier.
At the walk!
Ho!
Mind if I join you, Captain?
Oh, sit down, Mr. Cybert.
It's a fine night, isn't it, sir?
Yeah, about as perfect as they come.
Cool, peaceful, clear as a bell.
It's funny when you think about it.
What is it?
The way things work out.
This country we're in, five days now, we haven't seen another soul.
Chances are, the next time we come through, we'll have to fight our way.
Maybe not.
Sue may stand by their treaty.
I hope so.
So do I, Mr. Sabitz, for all our sakes.
I know what you mean, sir.
I didn't when I first came out from the point.
We all start green, Mr. Sabitz.
I suppose.
Beg pardon, Captain.
Yes, Sergeant?
Sir, what are we going to do about that horse at Turler's?
Why, you know what we're going to do, Gorse.
When, sir?
I, uh...
I figured first thing in the morning, we'll shift the loads and give him one of the pack horses.
Does he know you're aiming to destroy her?
No, he ought to. He's had ten years in the cavalry.
Well, I don't think he does, sir.
Uh-huh.
He's had her down there at the end of the pool ever since we unsaddled,
putting mud on her leg, walking her, standing her in the water.
He keeps talking to her, Captain.
What is it you're trying to tell me, Gorse?
In the morning, sir, before we shoot that horse,
we better take Jobie's rifle and sidearm.
All right, Gorse. I'll talk to him.
I guess I've been putting it off all evening and I...
Injured, sir?
They're up there along the edge of the bluff.
Sergeant, form the men.
Right, sir.
Deploy a skirmisher, mine cover, and dig in.
Stand by for the moment, Sabitz.
Yes, sir.
Corporal!
Yes, sir.
Get those horses under cover.
Up against the bank, under that overhang.
Check the men's positions, Mr. Sabitz.
Have them lay their fire along the edge of that bluff.
It's the only target they'll have.
Yes, sir.
And put two men at the north end of the pool.
It's brushy. They could slip in on us.
Right, sir.
You think they're so?
What's the difference?
They're shooting at us.
Carry on, Mr. Sabitz.
Yeah.
Put in your dough on Yeats.
Another half hour, it will be.
That's when they're gonna hit us, too.
Right after dawn.
That's how they always do.
Yeah.
That's what I've heard.
Yeah, waiting up there right now.
All along the edge of that bank, just waiting for dawn.
And we're gonna get it good.
What do you figure the captain's gonna do, Yeats?
I don't know.
What do you think he can do?
They got us pinned down good and they know it.
And so does he.
And now they just wait...
Ooh, ee.
I seen that flash trail.
You know, I could get me one right there.
If the captain let us fire back.
Yeah, since we gotta save ammunition.
But, Fer, he ain't gonna give us time to use it up.
Them's the orders.
Well, you know, I had me a belly full of orders in this army.
Huh.
An hour from now, you might have a belly full of bullets.
You know where I'm gonna put my first shot when they hit us?
Right in the back of Jobie Turler's head.
Yeah.
Always knew you was brave.
Well, it's him got us in this fix.
Him and that crow-bait horse ahead.
Well, it'll be the captain that gets us out, if anybody does.
I wonder what him and the sergeant's doing over there.
Well, I know what I'd be doing.
If I had anything to do with it,
I'd be getting myself blind drunk.
Let's see his face, Gorse.
Yes, sir.
Black circle painted there on his forehead.
You're on the warpath, all right.
Yeah.
Yellow bars across the cheeks, white dot on the chin,
red line over the bridge of the nose.
They're a dove clan.
At least we know who we're up against.
Well, it's always nice to know, sir.
Yep.
Let's get back to cover.
It's almost light enough they can see us.
Yes, sir.
Captain, sir.
Yeah?
What is it, Teller?
Captain, I heard the men talking.
They're saying I'm to blame for all this.
Who's your commanding officer, Teller?
Huh?
Well, you are, sir.
Who do you get your orders from?
From you, Captain.
Who ordered you to camp here last night?
Well, you did.
Then who's to blame?
Well, yes, but...
Forget it, Teller.
We've got a fight coming up.
Yes, sir.
Been praying in my mind all night.
Yeah, I know.
Come on, Gorse.
All right, all right.
Hold it here.
I figured about 20 of them.
No more than 25.
They wouldn't even try to stand against us, Captain,
if we was up there on the flat.
Yeah, but we're not.
We've no way of getting there.
They got us pinned down tight.
A mounted charge?
Well, we'd have to mount in the open.
Maybe three or four of us would get in the saddle.
The way we stand, it's only a matter of time, sir.
Not much time at that.
As long as they hold the top of that bank, like...
They got another one of our horses.
Yeah, if that was...
That was Bell!
Here, stay down, Teller!
That's Bell or Shannon!
Hey, get back to cover!
Crazy fool.
Let him go, sir.
We need every man we've got.
Stay here, Sergeant.
I'm going after him.
Watch yourself, sir.
They shot her, sir.
They shot her.
They got no call to do that.
Now, she's as much army as we are.
There's no reason for them shooting a horse.
Here, Joby, you can...
You can borrow my pistol.
Your pistol, sir? What for?
I didn't figure you'd want to use your own.
I can't, sir.
She's in pain, Joby.
No.
Some things a man's got no choice about in this world.
Now, if you don't, then I'll have to.
All right, Captain.
Here you are.
Yeah.
Thank you, sir.
Now, Belle... Belle...
Joby?
Yeah, I know, sir.
They didn't have no call to do that.
I'll... I'll take my pistol now, Joby.
They didn't gain nothing by that.
They didn't gain nothing at all.
Joby.
Dirty killer.
Here, come here.
Dirty murderer.
Joby, come back here.
Joby!
You all right, Captain?
Oh, Joby's out of his mind.
Well, he's going straight up the slope.
I can't keep missing him, sir.
No, they're not.
He's been hit twice already.
Captain, they're up in the open all along the skyline.
He's got them worried.
Yeah, have the men give him some cover, sir.
I'll go and get them.
Fire!
Mr. Syvers, have them lay their fire along the ridge.
They've got targets on the skyline now.
Lay your fire along the ridge.
In the name of heaven, what's keeping him on his feet, sir?
A heart, Sergeant.
Crazy or not, that's a man up there.
Look, Captain, they're going to break.
They're leaving the ridge.
Yeah, you're right.
Come on, Gorse.
Now, you're going to have to get out of here.
I'll go and get them.
He's still on his feet, and he's right at the ridge.
What is it, sir?
What's happening?
That stunt was just insane enough to panic him, Mr. Syvers.
They must think it's a trick.
They're breaking, pulling back from the ridge.
We've got a chance now.
We're going up.
I'll never understand it, sir.
Understand what, Mr. Syvers?
How he did it.
Thirteen bullet wounds, and he still got all the way to the top.
Well, I guess something takes hold of a man at times like that.
But of all the least likely people, my old meek little Jobie Terler.
Meek or not, everybody's got at least one thing he'll live for or die for.
You'll have to admit, sir, it's usually something more than just a horse.
How would you feel, Mr. Syvers, if the one and only friend you'd ever had in this world
was lying helpless at your feet?
The only thing that you could do for him was to put a bullet in his brain.
Fort Laramie is produced and directed by Norman MacDonald
and stars Raymond Burr as Lee Quince, captain of cavalry,
with Vic Perrin as Sergeant Gorse.
The script was specially written for Fort Laramie by Les Crutchfield,
with sound patterns by Bill James and Ray Kemper,
musical supervision by Amarico Marino.
Featured in the cast were Harry Bartel, Lawrence Dobkin, Jack Crouchon, Tim Graham, and Barney Phillips.
Company, attention!
Dismissed.
Next week, another transcribed story of the Northwest frontier
and the troopers who fought under Lee Quince, captain of cavalry.
You're not branded as a careless driver only because you zoom at 60 along a crowded highway
or because you fail to heat a stoplight or stop sign.
You're a bad driver, a careless driver, when your car is standing stuck still at the curb,
if it's parked in a no parking zone, if it's too close to a fire hydrant, or if it's double parked.
Are you a reckless driver even when your car is standing still?
Remember, it's kid stuff to try to get away with something.