At the gallop, ho!
Fort Laramie
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.
The story of Lee Quince
The story of Lee Quince
The story of Lee Quince
The story of Lee Quince
The story of Lee Quince
The story of Lee Quince
The story of Lee Quince
The story of Lee Quince
If you can write, fill out the forms there.
If you can't write, but you can talk, tell me, I'll fill them out.
If you can't write or talk, we don't need you.
About my uniform, Colonel.
Who said that?
I spoke quite clearly and distinctly, I believe.
You?
Aye.
What's your name, mister?
Granville Merriweather.
You some kind of funny man, mister?
I dare say I'm not without humor. Not to the point of buffoonery, mind you.
Stand up, mister.
You want to make that yes, sergeant?
Why...
Yes, sergeant, I believe I do.
Now, what's your name?
Granville Merriweather.
Your real name, mister?
I suppose I must.
I'm waiting.
It's...
Botkin, sergeant.
Arnie Botkin.
Arnie Botkin?
Oh, no, now that sets me off.
Arnie Botkin. Why, there ain't no such a name as Arnie Botkin.
You another funny man, mister.
Well, I ain't near as funny as he is.
I done a little sleight of hand in my time, but I never produced no Granville Merriweather out of Arnie Botkin.
Arnie Botkin, there's no such a name as...
Must I be subjected to this ridicule, I say, sir? Is this the reward of a patriot?
You two together?
Alas, we are, but only in these last dark days.
Well, it comes from me having a hard goal, sergeant.
I let him join my act, you might say, seeing he was down on his Arnie Botkin.
Pure distortion, pure distortion. Allow me, sir. Your ear...
Now, wait.
Just you wait, or I'll allow you a sight more in my ear.
I tell you, we get ourselves some strange ones in this army, but I swear you two come right close to the limit.
You ain't saying we can't get in, sergeant.
A man has his rights, sir, and precious among them is the right to heed his country's call to arms.
Stand to the colors, man, against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Are you gonna stop, mister?
Well, I... I must say, I...
Yes, yes, yes.
All right. Now, we'll do this one at a time.
You. What's your name?
Feeny. Feeniest Feeny.
Where you from?
From?
You got a home?
Well, it's right outside the door, sergeant.
Posey and me, we got this little wagon rigging wherever we light it.
Sundown, that's home.
Posey, you married?
Indeed, oh, indeed.
And may I say, sir, no couple will ever more ideally suited...
Oh, I beg pardon, sergeant.
Posey's my horse.
I used to work the riverboats, Mississippi, anywhere from St. Louis to New Orleans, dancing, singing, minstrel work.
Since the war, I got itchy feet to come west.
The last four years, I've been over the most of it, too.
Poor Down, you're an actor.
Oh, I must protest.
In the name of the spoken word, the ancient art, call him what he is, but do not degrade my honored profession.
I run a little medicine show, sergeant.
Oh, I got pots and pans and calico, but mostly I entertain folks into buying a little tonic I put together.
If you must put a trade behind his name, he inscribed the words,
Low Comedy, but in deference to the Druze, in the name of Edwin Booth and Maurice Barrymore, and Granville, Merriwether...
Are you spoiling for the guardhouse, mister?
If best to serve my country more, then yes.
Shackle me. Cut from me my tongue.
I'm toying with that idea.
Captain Quint, sir?
Sergeant.
Any idea whose rig that is outside?
A horse and wagon, captain.
It's his.
Something wrong, are they?
Your horse is ailing. Better see to it.
Oh, she ain't it. Not for too long, she ain't...
Corporal of the guard will give you a hand, show you where to move that rig. Now, go on.
I sure will.
Allow me to introduce myself.
Go help your friend.
Oh, I dare say he's equal to the task, while I, on the other hand...
Move!
Exactly, sergeant.
What is that all about, Gorse?
Now, ain't that something? They're answering the call to the colors, captain.
They're what?
Well, you could put it another way, I guess.
They're starving to death.
How many new men out there, captain?
B company?
Twenty.
Pretty sorry sight. Must have hit the bottom of the barrel.
A long time ago, Major. After that, we scraped it.
What you see out there is after scraping.
They can't mount?
It's the sergeant time, Major.
I've seen enough, captain. We've got plans to lay out.
Yes, sir.
What have we got out there, Lee?
Pretty good cross-section of what's coming into the Army these days, Major.
It's still a question. What's that?
Drugs, failures, fugitives, men running from the law, from women, from work, men running from themselves.
Just before they blow their brains out, they join the Army. Isn't that what we've come to?
They can still stop bullets and arrows.
I don't expect talk like that from you, captain.
It's straight talk.
I don't see that.
We'll talk about it inside.
Sit down, captain.
Thank you, sir.
Men who can stop bullets and arrows. Since when did you start feeling that way about the Army?
I'm in the Army. That's how I feel about it. I didn't get here by accident, Major. I meant to.
That's all the Army is, how men feel about it. It's good or bad on that feeling.
These new men, I didn't see any Sergeant Gorse's among them.
Gorse is a 30-year man. He's like me. Doesn't know any better. Or any worse.
Now what does that mean, any worse?
It means we didn't try anything else and fail. Some of your new Army out on that parade ground joined up out of plain hunger.
Their feeling for the Army is it's a place to eat, get clothes to wear, and a cot to sleep on.
Maybe the Army's at fault. If this is all we can attract, we must be to blame.
50 cents a day and all the jerky you can eat? Sure, the Army's at fault.
But the kind of trooper you want isn't up for a price.
That feeling I was talking about, well, it's not something you can buy.
I hope it's something we can cultivate. We're gonna need it soon.
Here, Pete Hazen's report on the Wind River area. Shoshone?
Yeah, and the Sioux. Hazen says Crazy Horse led a few dog soldiers into the Shoshone encampment about a week ago.
It's all in the report, but they're pow-wowing about something.
You haven't had a patrol over there since early last fall. They had a bad winter, didn't they? Snows.
Worst in years. Now they've melded, those range peaks will be a lot more accessible.
We shouldn't have any trouble with good scouting. And Pete's the best there is.
We'll have to do without him. He's been sent up to Montana country. Won't be back for at least a month.
You read his report and study the Wind River range maps. We may have to move before the month's out.
I hope they learn to mount by then. Have to do the best we can, Captain.
Against dog soldiers, Major. We'll have to do better than we can.
That Maine making a camp on Bighorn River. That route's no good for us.
Come in.
You busy, Captain?
Yeah, I am, Mr. Sabitz.
Still with the maps, huh?
Still with them. Oh, what's that? More reports on Wind River?
Oh, no, sir. It's something I thought you'd want to see, though.
Winter Garden Booth Benefit for the Shakespeare Statue Fund, Friday evening, November 25, 1864. Julius Caesar.
I was there, Captain.
You were?
Yes, sir. That's the play bell.
I see it is.
I've never forgotten it. It was here before I went to West Point.
But I had enough sense to know that I was experiencing one of the rare moments in the theater.
You see there? Junius Booth played Cassius. Edwin was Brutus.
And John Wilkes Booth was Mark Antony.
Yes, sir. Of course, that was before he...
Well, it's very interesting, Mr. Sabitz.
But you don't know why I wanted to show it to you yet. Look who played Casca.
Casca, Mr. Granville Merriwether.
Well?
Well?
Well, he's here, Captain. He's joined the Army. As a matter of fact, he's in B Company.
He's been in B Company nearly three weeks now.
Yes, sir, I know, except that I didn't realize he was THE Granville Merriwether.
And a while ago I got to looking through a bunch of old playbills and I ran across this.
Well, he's played nearly all of Shakespeare, Captain.
He still can't mount a horse, Mr. Sabitz.
I know, and I don't understand it.
On the stage he moves with the greatest ease and grace, for instance in duels on the stage, of course.
I've seen him show real agility.
Mr. Sabitz!
Oh, you said you were busy, didn't you?
I said I was.
I wonder, Captain. Maybe if I work with Mr. Merriwether on his horsemanship...
If you make a trooper out of him, you're due for a medal.
Oh. Tell him to make out he's learning for a part.
That might be the best approach.
To tell you the truth, I'd like to meet him and talk to him anyway.
Uh, you talk to him. Ask him if he ever played the part of Kit Carson.
Kit Carson, Captain?
Yeah. We could use a good guide.
Right easy now, posy girl. Just stretch your legs good.
You ain't up to more.
Ah. Showing me a little, huh?
Well, it's not that I ain't pleased, posy girl, but...
You got any idea what'd happen to me if they found me out here this time of night?
As a matter of fact, they found you around here at all, didn't they?
Yeah. You work good.
You come along now, and I'll blanket you.
There's oats and water waiting.
I need you taking cold, girl.
You need this blanket a sight more than I do.
There you go now.
Get to your eating. I'll stand watch on you.
You just don't learn much, do you, feeny?
Do what? Oh, it's you, Sergeant.
I swear I'm just no hand to see at night.
You seem good enough to lead posy around the corral,
let her straight to oats and water.
You see good at night, feeny.
Much obliged if you're saying so, Sergeant, but I...
You don't hear real good, though, night or day.
Well, now, there's where I have my real trouble, Sergeant, hearing.
Oh, I sure hope I didn't miss nothing important.
You missed tattoo again, feeny.
That's going on two weeks running. You missed tattoo.
Now, that's bad. I know it is.
You missed hearing me tell you to get rid of posy.
You missed all them warnings about stealing oats
and buying stalled space from the stable detail with that tonic of yours.
Do you think it's wax, Sergeant, all clogged up there in my ears?
You think that's a car?
I just think one thing about it, feeny.
I think it's all behind you.
You do?
One thing, we're moving out in a day or so.
Now, if you're out on patrol, I just don't see you
stealing back here every night tending to posy.
That puts a crimp in it, all right.
Another thing, between now and then,
your time's liable to be more occupied.
You might even say confining.
Do what?
You're going to be in the guardhouse till then, feeny.
Ain't you going to wash up, merryweather?
I am a saintly man, feeny,
and cleanliness is only next to godliness.
And I've been next to you.
You've been two days in that, McClellan.
A little of this sweet water won't hurt you none.
Sweet water?
Your ignorance is boundless as always, feeny.
Oh, now, ain't you smart.
This is sweet water. Every single drop of it.
Sweet Water River, that's its name.
What's in the name?
Oh, but indeed, what's in the name?
Ah!
Cuts right between the two ranges, as sweet water does,
the granite mountains to the north
and down that way the green mountains.
You traveled with Lewis and Clark, I presume.
Well, I've been during the river place.
There was.
Me and posy, we sold our little tonic all over.
I say, feeny, the elixir.
You brought a few tankards with you, truly?
Oh, it's all gone, merryweather.
What you didn't swill down, what I didn't use to buy stall space,
why, that sergeant just plain took prisoner.
But the formula, you can make more.
Formula?
You use the right base, you can add what you will.
It's no matter.
Yes, sir, merryweather, we put some riding in the last couple days.
We can't be more than a day from the Wind River range.
The right base?
It's corn liquor when I can get it.
Now, to get to Wind River,
they must figure on cutting up to Beaver Creek,
following it to the Little Popo Adjei
and into the basin from there.
Lease-wise, that's what I'd do.
Yes, yes, now, but suppose I can't lay my hands
on a quantity of corn liquor, as you call it.
As everyone calls it, that's its name.
But that being the case, learn a lesson, merryweather.
Any fruit will ferment left alone.
Ha-ha! Brilliant, feeny.
Brilliant observation.
I'll remember that.
You go far enough up through that basin,
and cow elk and their young feeding on chokecherries.
And right alongside, there's apt to be black bears
drinking from the streams.
Yes, sir, and where it's swampy like it's not,
there'll be moose grazing.
You know what you're talking about, feeny?
Captain, sir?
Yes, sir, captain?
You got a uniform, feeny?
Yes, sir, I sure have. It's right over there, sir.
Put it on. Yes, sir.
Ow!
Glad you spoke out that way, captain.
The man might chill and... Merryweather?
Right here, sir.
Report to Sergeant Gorse.
Tell him I said you were to stand picket duty tonight.
Yes, sir.
And the rest of this duty, all I want to hear out of you is yes, sir.
Yes, sir. Move out.
You'll draw extra guard duty when we get back to Fort Laramie, feeny.
The man assigned to tether horses isn't supposed to take a bath first.
Yes, sir.
You know this country?
Or were you just out jawing Merryweather?
Oh, I know it, sir, from the basin clean up to the ice fields.
Travel it by horse, did you?
Part time.
I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get a bath first.
I'm sure you will.
I'm sure you will.
Travel it by horse, did you?
Part time. Part time leading, Posey.
The going's steep. You get up in the range itself.
Say I want to follow Wind River to where it joins Green River, and then I...
Beg pardon, captain.
Well?
You can't do that, what you said.
Wind River don't join Green River, no horse.
All right. You know the Shoshone?
I traded with them. Fair?
When it struck me, too. You don't like them?
Well, they're people.
Some is rotten and some suits me fine.
I traded fair with them that suits me.
You joined the army to get back at the rotten ones, huh?
No, sir, that ain't why.
Why then?
I joined the army so I could eat regularly.
I got some maps, some scout reports in my tent, Feeny.
You got a job of reading ahead tonight.
Well, I ain't the best reader in the world, captain.
Then I'll read them to you.
Nothing says an army scout's got to know how to read.
You going by map or instinct, captain?
By map, instinct, and Feeny.
If he's right, we cut 40 miles off our old course.
It's a hard pull on the horses.
Posey made it under full pack.
You sure sold on Feeny, ain't you, captain?
Gotta be. He's as near to a scout I got.
We got a rendezvous point with him?
Yep, over this ridge.
There's forage there and water.
And that's by map, instinct, and Feeny.
Yes, sir.
Well, how does it look to you, sergeant?
Like Feeny knows his business, captain.
Let's go down.
There's a horse yonder, captain, over by the stream.
Yeah, I see it.
Feeny.
I kind of hoped I'd last till you showed up, captain.
How bad is it, Feeny?
I'm full of holes and dripping.
Ain't nothing you can do except listen while I got the breath.
I'm listening.
It's a big camp, captain.
Must be a thousand Shoshone.
Half of them wars.
Azen's report said crazy horse and dog soldiers.
And more moving in from the north all the time.
That's a lot of soup.
You need all the army you got and then some.
In my blouse, captain.
Yeah, I'll get it.
It's a map.
The best I could draw.
They're in a box canyon.
You can get them good if they stay put.
Thank you, Feeny.
Feeny, you better stick around.
We need you real bad.
Can't oblige you, captain.
I'd like to, but I...
You want something, Feeny?
Yes, sir.
Merriwether.
Merriwether.
Feeny.
You stay too, captain.
He'll need a witness on...
Willing him something.
But...
You always get in trouble alone, Feeny.
Without me, you bungle everything.
You want to come along, Merriwether?
I'm dying.
Ah.
Comics don't die, Feeny.
They don't know how.
No true sense of tragedy.
You... you get posy, Merriwether.
Treat her good now.
I won't.
Feeny.
Feeny.
He can't answer you now, trooper.
What kind of an...
Exit line was that?
You see, I... I told you...
Even on a curtain speech, he...
I'm afraid this isn't my best performance, captain.
Maybe it is, Merriwether.
Maybe because you're not play-acting.
Fort Laramie is produced and directed by Norman MacDonald
and stars Raymond Burr as Lee Quince, captain of cavalry,
with Vic Perlin as Sergeant Gorse.
The script was specially written for Fort Laramie by Kathleen Height,
with sound patterns by Bill James and Ray Kemper,
musical supervision by Amerigo Moreno.
Featured in the cast were John Danaer and Parley Bear.
Jack Moyles is Major Daggett and Harry Bartell is Lieutenant Syberts.
Company, attention!
Dismiss.
Next week, another transcribed story of the Northwest Frontier
and the troopers who fought under Lee Quince, captain of cavalry.
For the younger members of the family, this is an ideal time of year.
School's out and they have plenty of time to play and be with their friends.
Perhaps it's not quite so easy for us grown-ups who are thinking ahead
to the time when our children will be ready for college,
wondering whether we'll be ready with enough money to pay their tuition.
Instead of fretting, sign up with a payroll savings plan where you work.
Start buying those safe, profitable United States savings bonds regularly.
Start now to invest in your future security and in the security of your country.
Thank you.