01x06 - The Big k*lling

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: Previously on "The American West"...

The country is rapidly settling the frontier, but with a growing population comes lawless boomtowns... where crime runs rampant.

Cheater, huh?

Narrator: In the town of Dodge City, the new Deputy Marshal Wyatt Earp is making use of his natural ability to keep the peace in the chaotic West. Meanwhile, in the territory of New Mexico, a new breed of outlaw is on the rise. After years on his own, Billy the Kid finally finds a place to belong when he's hired by cattle rancher John Tunstall. But when Tunstall is m*rder*d over a business dispute, Billy loses the only father figure he's ever known... and vows to take down everyone involved, setting the stage for a new w*r in the West.

(theme music playing)

In Lincoln County, New Mexico, Billy the Kid is determined to avenge the m*rder of his friend and mentor, John Tunstall.

Kathleen Chamberlain: Billy was devastated when Tunstall was k*lled. He got together with his friends, and the more they talked about it, the more angry they became.

Narrator: Tunstall's death is orchestrated by a corrupt group of wealthy businessmen known as "the House." The House has a hold on everything in Lincoln County, including the law. With no one to turn to for justice, Billy and a g*ng of local citizens band together to take the law into their own hands, forming a vigilante group known as "the Regulators."

Mark Lee Gardner: Billy and those loyal to Tunstall are going after every man that was in that posse. Billy is going to fulfill his vendetta before he dies.

Narrator: At the top of their hit list... the man responsible for the m*rder of Tunstall, Sheriff William J. Brady.

Gardner: Sheriff Brady is working for the House.

Brady, to Billy, is just as culpable as any of those men that m*rder*d his friend.

Here he comes.

(g*nsh*t)

(g*nshots)

Billy: It sure is nice to see you again...

Sheriff.

Narrator: On April 1, 1878, Billy the Kid kills a member of the House in cold blood.

Paul Hutton: He kills... but he's a k*ller for justice... his sense of "Gunsmoke" justice, because the law is corrupt, and the law was totally, irrevocably corrupt in territorial New Mexico.

Narrator: For Billy, the k*lling of Sheriff Brady is just the beginning.

Hutton: Now Billy is an outlaw.

That really is the point of no return.

Narrator: Over the span of a month and a half, Billy and his g*ng k*ll five more men involved in Tunstall's death.

Kiefer Sutherland: Billy the Kid found the one thing that he was good at, which was k*lling other people, and he got a lot of attention for it and he embraced it.

There's not a lot of characters in the West as aggressive as that.

Narrator: Word of the v*olence spreads quickly through the surrounding counties.

Now the small-time cattle thief has become a feared, cold-blooded m*rder*r.

Gardner: When you k*ll the man that represents law and order, that definitely makes the newspapers.

Even if Sheriff Brady is corrupt, he's still a sheriff.

He's still the elected sheriff of Lincoln County.

Narrator: Twelve hundred miles away, another outlaw who's become a hero for the Confederate cause remains in hiding.

In the years since their disastrous bank robbery in Minnesota, Jesse James and his brother Frank have been keeping a low profile.

And now two of America's most famous outlaws live under new identities working as farmers.

Gardner: Jesse and Frank hide out in Tennessee for a while and, you know, "Maybe this is the time that we kinda give up this crazy stuff and let's see if we can make a living, and maybe they'll leave us alone."

Wanna see Dada?

Gardner: They both have wives. Jesse had two children.

When they're home, they're good family men, when they're not at home, they're not very good citizens.

(baby crying)

Narrator: But stories of the new breed of outlaws wreaking havoc in the West are now making news nationwide.

And Jesse James, the most notorious criminal of his time, is growing restless.

They're gonna be pullin' all the troops out of the South.

And Missouri.

It's about damn time.

I wonder what kind of angle they're working with that.

I don't think it's an angle.

I think the w*r is over.

(chuckles)

So what are we gonna do now?

We're gonna take care of the farm, Jesse.

Gardner: Jesse wasn't doing that well trying to be just a normal person, a normal Joe.

That life was so sedate compared to the rush of the wind in your face and the smell of gunpowder and seeing the fear in people's eyes.

I'll be back. I promise.

Gardner: So I think, for him, the natural place to turn...

"I know how to rob trains, I know how to rob banks."

Narrator: After two years in hiding, Jesse James is going back to a life of crime.

Narrator: After years of roaming the West, looking to make his fortune, Wyatt Earp has finally found himself a home... as deputy marshal of Dodge City.

With his imposing figure and strongarm tactics, Wyatt's bringing a new sense of order to the lawless frontier.

Ann Kirschner: Rather than use b*ll*ts, he was more likely to use words.

But if he really needed to, he would pick up his p*stol and hit the offender over the head with it.

Very effective.

Narrator: Wyatt averages nearly 300 arrests a month.

But soon he gets a case that will change his outlook on justice in the West.

In 1878, Dora Hand, a popular Dodge City actress and singer, is m*rder*d... shocking the town.

But despite Wyatt's tireless efforts to seek justice and overwhelming evidence, her m*rder*r walks free without a trial after his father, a wealthy businessman, pays off local officials.

Bill Richardson: The American West at the time was lawlessness.

And there were many violent acts that weren't prosecuted.

The court system was not the best.

Narrator: The case leaves Wyatt questioning why he bothers enforcing the law... in a town where corruption runs so deep.

Miles away in a remote hideout in Missouri...

Jesse James is planning his next heist.

Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes, brother?

Looky there.

Jesse, I ain't comin' back.

I thought long and hard now.

And it's time.

What do you mean?

What do you mean you're not coming back?

We've been on the run half our lives.

I'm tired.

I'm sick and tired of it, Jesse.

I'm gonna be a husband.

I'm gonna be a father.

It ain't right kids growing up without no father.

You and I know that better than most.

So you rode all the way out here to tell me you're quittin' on me?

You want to be famous, or you want a family?

Go be with your son.

Well, I appreciate you coming out.

Gardner: Frank was just able to adjust better to that civilian lifestyle than Jesse was.

Frank has a son by this time.

I think he would prefer to leave that life behind.

Narrator: Jesse's already lost every other member of his g*ng... and now with Frank backing out, he'll have to rebuild his life of crime on his own.

Over 900 miles away... the murderous rampage of Billy the Kid... that left the Lincoln County sheriff and five other men dead is gaining the attention of New Mexico's most prominent figures, including wealthy landowner Thomas Catron.

David Eisenbach: Sheriff Brady was owned by the House.

He was indebted to them, and he was abusing his office as sheriff.

But k*lling a sheriff now brings on all sorts of heat.

You cannot k*ll an officer of the law without the law having to cr*ck you.

Not necessarily 'cause that officer was a good guy, but because he's a symbol of the system.

Narrator: After three months of hunting, the House finally tracks down Billy the Kid and his g*ng...

Hyah!

And forces them to take refuge in a nearby farmhouse.

Brewer: How long can we hold out?

Don't worry so much.

This is the fun part.

You know, they say God created man, but Samuel Colt made 'em equal.

I have here a warrant for the charge of m*rder in the death of Sheriff William Brady!

(clicks)

(clicks)

This is your last chance, Billy. Come out with your hands up!

I don't believe in last chances.

So I guess, uh, you can go to hell.

Maybe I'll meet you there, Billy!

Billy had never suffered a personal defeat.

Even if there'd been a thousand men surrounding that building, Billy, in his mind,

"You know, we could probably do it."

Narrator: To increase their manpower, the House calls in the U.S. Army to help take down the notorious outlaw.

It's not only a column of soldiers, but they have a very formidable-looking Gatling g*n.

I mean, what are you gonna do against a*tillery?

Deputy: Open fire!

Narrator: Surrounded by lawmen and the U.S. Army, Billy the Kid and the rest of the Regulators are trapped.

(g*n clicks)

Your last chance, Billy! Come out with your hands up!

Go to hell, Deputy!

(g*n clicks)

Maybe I'll meet you there, Billy!

Billy, uh, had a violent reputation.

And they figured that he wasn't gonna be taken easily.

Open fire!

Gardner: Billy the Kid is a man of action.

He wants to do something.

He doesn't want to be holed up in this house where they're surrounded.

Narrator: With the odds stacked against him... Billy the Kid does the unthinkable.

Gardner: Billy the Kid was well-known for escaping.

And this was his most sensational escape.

Being surrounded by soldiers and gunmen and fleeing through a hail of b*ll*ts... that's quite an escape.

Narrator: Miraculously, Billy gets away without a scratch. But the showdown leaves seven people dead and becomes known as "The Big k*lling."

Chamberlain: The Big k*lling was seen as the epitome of western anarchism and Wild West v*olence.

It made huge headlines across the West, and as far east as New York City.

It verified to everybody that the West, and especially New Mexico, was a place that was beyond civilization.

Narrator: As news spreads of the disastrous showdown in Lincoln County, Billy the Kid knows he's a hunted man. So he heads to the most lawless city in the United States... Las Vegas, New Mexico. Like Dodge City before it, Las Vegas, New Mexico, is a boomtown, meant to bring big business west. But because of its remote location and lack of a police force, it attracts gunslingers, murderers, and outlaws instead. The killings rage out of control, at one point reaching a m*rder a day. And the city becomes known as the "most dangerous place in the West."

(patrons chattering)

What'll you have?

Whiskey.

Narrator: It's the perfect place for a wanted man like Billy to hide out. But what he doesn't realize is that there's another infamous outlaw in Las Vegas... determined to track him down.

Narrator: Billy the Kid is hiding out in the lawless town of Las Vegas, New Mexico. But another famous outlaw is also there... looking for him.

Thank you.

Mind if I join you?

You're even younger than I expected.

You got a name, friend, or just a mouth on you?

I got both.

How do you feel about... working for Jesse James?

You're Jesse James?

Your name's Jesse James?

You hear that? I'm sittin' with Jesse James over here!

Well, if he's right, I recommend you put your heads back to your tables.

I got a proposition for you.

I'm puttin' something together.

The way you draw that p*stol, I could use a man like you.

For what?

I'm about to make some real money, Billy.

I'm not talking about the silly little pony game you play, picking off a few head of cattle.

I'm talkin' about train money.

You think about it.

Jesse James and Billy the Kid.

Got a ring to it, doesn't it?

Gardner: The legend says that Jesse was trying to recruit Billy the Kid.

But Jesse is this hardened, hardened professional who's had many years' experience.

Billy the Kid, well, he's just kind of a cattle rustler.

He didn't rob stagecoaches or banks or trains.

But they both were at the height of their infamy.

I only ride with people I trust.

And all those people... are dead.

I'm not interested.

But thank you.

Enjoy that whiskey.

Narrator: Jesse James leaves determined to reignite his criminal career, while Billy the Kid continues to elude the law.

But what Billy doesn't know is that Thomas Catron is determined to track him down.

And with big business pushing further west, Billy the Kid has become a liability.

Robert Redford: Well, I think things changed drastically in terms of outlaws when business developed, like the railroad and like banks.

In order for those things to succeed, you needed law and order to protect it.

How much time do you think you'll need?

About a month.

Maybe less.

But I'm gonna need men, and those men are gonna need money.

Money isn't a problem... time is.

Whatever it takes, get it done.

Yes, sir.

Narrator: Catron decides to throw his political weight behind the election of a new sheriff, a man whose main responsibility will be the capture of Billy the Kid.

His name is Pat Garrett.

Gardner: There's something in his character that people see.

There's some integrity there.

There's some fortitude.

Narrator: A former buffalo hunter with a sharpsh**ter's eye, Garrett's known for his skills as a tracker.

Gardner: Pat Garrett was a good choice.

He knew many of the same people that Billy the Kid knew, and he also knew the area.

He knew the places that an outlaw might hide or where they might go.

He would be able to track them better than somebody that came in from the outside.

Narrator: Pat Garrett is facing the greatest challenge of his life, but he knows he's the man who can take down Billy the Kid once and for all.

Narrator: In Dodge City, Kansas, lawman Wyatt Earp is fed up with rampant corruption... and ready to move on.

Kirschner: Dodge City, after a while, according to Wyatt, anyway, lost its "snap."

And he was hungry for a new adventure.

Thank you.

Narrator: When he hears from his brother Virgil about silver strikes in a nearby territory, he knows it's time for a change.

Wyatt turns in his badge... and heads west.

Tom Selleck: I think part of the appeal for us of the West is that this was a place of limitless opportunity.

And if you were willing to accept the idea that risk is the price and you were going to pay for that opportunity, you picked up stakes, took that risk, and, in many cases, changed your life.

It's very American in spirit.

Narrator: Wyatt joins thousands of Americans pushing deeper into the frontier, hoping to cash in on a new age in America.

H.W. Brands: By the 1870s, the United States is fully into the Industrial Revolution.

It was a confluence of changing technology, so there was a sense in which the American experience was gonna change.

Narrator: Back East, big cities are growing like never before, built by steel and powered by electricity and kerosene.

And as the country modernizes, it relies on materials that can only be found in the West.

Andrew Isenberg: The United States is a rapidly urbanizing and rapidly industrializing country.

The gold, silver, copper, timber, cattle... a lot of the resources in the West are being drawn into this industrializing nation.

Narrator: In the Southwest, massive silver strikes have given rise to a new wave of boomtowns.

And Wyatt Earp is heading to the one that will be forever linked to his legacy...

Tombstone, Arizona.

Twelve hundred miles away in Missouri, after failing to recruit Billy the Kid in Las Vegas, Jesse James has finally managed to pull together a new g*ng.

And he's ready to make his first big score in years.

Let's go over this one more time.

Train's gonna come around this curve, slow down.

That's gonna give us the time we need.

And I'm gonna come out two days early.

When you boys come in, I want you to come in through the north.

Do not go through the town.

Am I clear?

Once we board the train, I'm gonna go to the express car, you boys spread out.

Anybody gives you trouble, you take care of it quick.

What do you mean, "take care of 'em"?

What the hell you think I mean?

Get outta here.

Come on up here.

I'm gonna put you in the lead, okay?

All right, one more time.

At this point, he's just finding somebody that can hold a g*n and hold a horse and that, hopefully, is trustworthy.

(train whistle blowing)

(screeching)

(low chattering)

(g*nsh*t)

(woman screams)

Stay in your seats, do not move.

Yes, this train is bein' robbed.

And I'm not in the mood to k*ll anybody today.

Where the hell you goin'?

You open that safe. Come on.

Open the damn safe!

(g*n clicks)

You hear that sound?

You know what comes next?

You open that safe.

Jesse.

What are these?

Checks.

Checks. Where's the money, where's the cash?

This is it.

You got checks in here?

You got checks in here?!

Where's the cash?!

We don't carry much cash anymore, just checks.

(g*nsh*t)

(Woman screams)

I want everybody's attention and I want it now!

I am no longer in a good mood!

I want watches, I want rings, I want jewelry, wallets!

You have something of value, I want it now!

C'mon now!

Narrator: Without any cash, Jesse's g*ng is only able to gather a fraction of what he made on train robberies years ago.

What you hidin' from me?

Narrator: Jesse's comeback heist is a complete failure.

And now that the rail companies know he's back, he's once again one of the most wanted men in the West.

Narrator: Pat Garrett is the new sheriff of Lincoln County, and his first order of business is finding Billy the Kid.

Garrett tracks Billy relentlessly, covering hundreds of miles in the New Mexico territory.

Gardner: There are so many places to hide out in this open, butte-covered country in New Mexico.

It's kind of like a needle in a haystack.

So you need someone who knows the territory, knows the country.

Narrator: Finally, after six weeks...

Garrett gets a lead.

Billy and his g*ng have been spotted heading to a hideout 100 miles outside Lincoln.

Sutherland: Pat Garrett was a tracker and a hunter, and when he was told to go get Billy the Kid, he did it.

Congratulations.

I gotta take a piss.

(g*n clicks)

(g*nsh*t)

Billy: Who's there?!

It's Pat Garrett!

You're not gettin' away this time!

He's gonna try to get that lead horse. sh**t it free.

(g*nsh*t)

(g*nsh*t)

Come on, man, can't you hit a rope?

(horse whinnies)

All right... all we have to do now is wait, boys.

Narrator: With the hideout completely isolated, Pat Garrett knows that Billy's supplies will eventually run out.

Gardner: I always think Billy thought there was a chance.

He'd already done it before and, you know, wasn't even scratched, so maybe we can do it again.

But the fellow g*ng members are starting to get weak and they're starting to say, "I think we should surrender."

(horse whinnies)

Drop your w*apon!

Chamberlain: Billy was surrounded. He was running out of water, he had very little food, and he really only had one choice and that was to put his hands up and come out.

Narrator: On December 23rd, 1880, Billy the Kid surrenders. But while he may have turned himself in... Billy the Kid is not about to give up.