"This land has a name today and is marked on maps." "But the names and the marks and the land all had to be won." "Won from nature and from primitive man." "Five generations ago, a mere 125 years back  this land was known only as the West." "Known only to a handful of white men  lonely trappers wandering its vastness in search of beaver." "They were known as mountain men, a new breed." "Men like Jim Bridger, Franchère and Sublette, Linus Rawlings." "More Indian than the Indians in all but blood." "They held to no law but their own  drifted free as the clouds, settled nowhere, kept forever on the move." "Their mocassined feet and unshod horses leaving no trace on the land." "Like the Indians, with whom they were at peace  they wanted nothing beyond what they found, and little of that." "The mountains, the forests, the harsh country  were as unchanging to them as the stars  and just as unyielding." "Far behind the mountains, beyond the rolling plains  they had left the people of the East, people who were restless in another way." "The kind who'd look at a mountain and see a watershed  look at a forest and see lumber for houses  look at a stony field and see a farm." "Their faces and their instincts had been turned to the West  ever since Plymouth Rock and Jamestown." "The trapper's road was the trail of a wolf or the bend of a canyon." "But for whole families chaffing to follow the sun  there had to be broader ways." "There were no roads into the wilderness, only rivers." "north or south." "Or else they stopped at the Alleghenies." "Until one day, a new river took source in the mind of a man named DeWitt Clinton." "He conceived of a river that would go west." "And in the way Americans have of acting out their dreams, it came to be." "The Erie Canal left the Hudson above Albany  and carried clear across to the Great Lakes." "People who yearned for virgin land and a new life  now had a highway to take them." "And they moved along." "Pride of Utica now loading!" "All aboard for the Pride of Utica!" "The Ramsey family, Peter Smith the Skoga family!" "All eight of them!" "All aboard for the Pride of Utica!" "Is the laddie's health the reason you're heading west?" "Partly." "Only partly." "Mostly our trouble East was rocks." "I had me a farm where some years I'd raise 100 bushels of rocks to the acre." "Zebulon, you hadn't ought to lie to the man like that." "Wife, I'm a God-fearing soul, and I tell the truth as I see it." "Now, I never used a plow." "I'd blast out the furrows with gunpowder." "And then one morning, I hauled the bucket up out of the well and so help me, the bucket was full of rocks." "Rocks." "I just stood there right still trying not to blaspheme." "I said to myself, "You've got a son that's ailing you've got a daughter what won't take to herself a husband."" " There she sits there, mooning as usual." " Pa." "You've got another who don't seem quite right in the head." "Lilith?" "Yes, Pa?" "Now, I'll remind you, sir." "I'm still standing there holding a bucket full of rocks and staring into a bleak old age." "So I made me a vow right then and there." "I said:" ""If I can find a man with $500 who likes rocks then there's gonna be another fool owning this farm."" "Well, sir, the Lord provided such a man and here I am." "He ain't told you one word of truth, Mr. Harvey." "We had the best farm in the township." "Yeah, Rockville Township it was." "Stone County." "Oh, it was not." "It was his itching foot that brought us here." "Heaven knows where we'll end up." "Oh, these are my laddies." "Angus, Brutus and Colin." " How do you do?" " Hello." "I think they're already acquainted with your daughters." " Be they single?" " Aye, single so far." "Well, this Illinois country's beginning to sound better to me." "Lilith?" "Lilith, here." "Strike up a little tune for these handsome lads." " Oh, I ain't in no mood, Pa." " Lilith, there's a time for coaxing this ain't the time." "All right." "All right." "A captain bold in Halifax Who lived in country quarters" "Betrayed a maid who hanged herself One morning in her garters..." "Lilith." "Now, you know better than to sing a song like that." " What ones do you know?" " We know "Yankee Doodle."" " "Yankee Doodle"?" " Their mother's dead." "They haven't had much learning in the social graces." "All right, give them "A Home in the Meadow."" "Eve, come on, you too." "That's it." "Come on, join in." "That's it." "Come on." "Stop." "Loading for the Flying Arrow!" "All aboard for the Flying Arrow!" " The Prescott family!" " Here we be." "Come on." "Alec Harvey and three sons!" "Jeffrey Rose and family!" "But the canal was only the first step toward the promised land." "The next steps were longer and harder." "Those who could raise the fare went by steamboat to the end of the line." "Others found a cheaper way to head for Ohio, Illinois  and the open spaces beyond." "Lilith." "Lilith, listen to this:" ""Theirs was a poignant parting in the forest." "The handsome young backwoodsman carved two hearts on a tree trunk then from ten paces, hurled a knife at the junction of the two hearts."" "Junction." "What's that?" "Well, that's where the two hearts meet." "Now, listen:" ""His marksmanship was uncanny." "Three times he hurled the knife on target." "'That was for luck,' he said the first time." "'That was for love." "Deep, divine love,' he said the second." "And the third time, 'That was a prayer, a plea for love undying."'" "Isn't that beautiful?" "I reckon." "If anybody ever talks like that." "Well, it's the sentiments, not the talk." "There ain't no sense to you, Eve." "You wanna to be a farm wife, but you don't wanna marry a farmer." "Neither do you." "Of course not." "I don't wanna have nothing to do with farms." "I want silk dresses and fine carriages and a man to smell good." "What I want's back East, not West." "But I'll get there yet." "You watch." "You don't know what you want yet." "It's the man that counts, not where he lives." " Ready, now?" "Ready." "Daddy, Daddy, something coming upriver." "Hostile Indians, I suspect." " Could it be river pirates, Zebulon?" " Don't know." "They say no honest man travels this river at night." "I can only see one man, Pa." "I hear that's a favorite pirate trick." "They hide in the bottom of the boat till they're ready to jump you." " Get my gun, Colin." " All right, Pa." "Just come in slow and easy, stranger." "And keep your hands where we can see them." "Name's Linus Rawlings." "I'm hungrier than sin and real peaceful like." " What have you got in the craft?" " Beaver pelts." "I said beaver pelts." "I never had a chance to see a beaver pelt, Mr. Rawlings." "Well, in that case, ma'am, I'll show you one." "There you are." "That's real soft." "It's a fine pelt, ma'am." "Now, my apologies, sir." " We was afeared you might be a pirate." " I ain't no pirate." "Come on, let's have supper and get acquainted." "No, no, no." "That's yours." "Keep that, ma'am." "Well, you sure set your cap in a hurry." "Is he the backwoodsman you've been waiting for?" "More than likely he's got a wife and six kids waiting for him." "Thank you, ma'am, that was right tasty." "You've only had four plates." "I was beginning to think you didn't like it." "Well, it don't pay to eat too much on an empty stomach, ma'am." "How come you're to be traveling so late at night?" "Well, I'm kind of anxious to get to Pittsburgh." "I ain't seen a city for a long time." "I aim to whoop it up a little." "Well, now, we've never seen a mountain man before." "Tell me, them Rocky Mountains as high as they say?" "Well, now, I just don't rightly know." "I never climbed one." "I've..." "Uh..." "Well, you know, that just ain't exactly true." "Jim Bridger and me we started up one of them little-bitty Rocky Mountain foothills, you know." "And then, one day, we see this fella and he has a great big pair of white wings and a harp in his hand." "And I said to Jim I said, "Jim, I don't like the way that fella's looking at us."" "And Jim said he didn't care too much for it neither so we both skedaddled down out of there and to this day I ain't never had a good look at the Rocky Mountains." " Well, I remember one time..." " Zebulon." " What?" " One liar at a time is enough." "Well, then, I reckon it's about bedtime." "Gotta get an early start in the morning." "We'll be expecting you for breakfast." "Oh, well, that's mighty hospitable, Mr. Prescott but sometimes I wake up and get the urge to move." "I might be long gone by sunup, but thank you." " I wanna thank all of you." "Good night." " Good night." " Strange fellas, these mountain men." " Yeah, kind of like a wisp of smoke." " By golly, that looks like my blanket." " It is." "Well, then, I'm a mite confused, ma'am." "Whose bed would it be?" "Yours." "I ain't ever saw a bed like that since last time I come east." "Why'd you do it?" "Ain't polite to ask a girl why she done something for a man." "No." "Well, I reckon my manners ain't much at that." "Anyway, I sure thank you." "Good night, ma'am." "Are them Indian girls pretty?" "Well, now, I reckon that all depends on just how long a man has gone without seeing one." "How long's it been since you seen a white girl?" "I ain't quite sure why you asked that." "How pretty do I look to you?" "But, ma'am ain't you just being a little bit forward?" "Well, you're headed upriver and I'm headed down." "There's no time to get these questions answered." "You dead sure you want them answered?" "Yes." "Glory be." "Ma'am, it seems like you've been kissed before." "I've never been kissed permanent before." "By golly, you sure use surprising words." "I never heard "permanent" mixed up with a thing like a kiss before." "I can still feel that kiss." " Can you?" " Well, you said something before that we had not forget:" "I'm heading upstream and you're headed downstream." "Lovers have parted before and come together again." " Ma'am." " Eve." "Eve, I'm a sinful man." "Deep, dark, sinful." "I'm on my way to Pittsburgh to be sinful again." "Likely I'll stay drunk for a month." "I won't even remember the fancy gals I dally with or the men I carve up just out of pure cussedness any more than I'll remember you." "Linus, I'm asking you." "Can you still feel that kiss?" "Eve..." "Eve, you make me feel like a man standing on a narrow ledge..." "There just ain't no ignoring the situation." "Eve!" "Eve!" " Eve!" "Where is she?" " Zeb, what's the matter?" "Anyways, you're here." "I thought you'd gone with him." " Gone?" " Yes, gone." "I knowed you were setting with him but I kept telling myself, "At least she's looking at a man."" "Even a wisp of smoke like that is better than..." "Are you crying?" "Crying for him?" "Now, what does that mean?" "Now, tell me what that means." "Nothing, Pa." "What time did you come to bed?" "It was early, Pa." "It wasn't." "It was late." "Daughter, I'm only gonna ask you once." "Is there anything for your ma and pa to worry about?" "No, Pa, there ain't." "He'll be back." "I'll see him again." "But you expected to see him this morning." "You know you did." "I don't care." "I'll see him again." "Look." " You got a growed man to do that?" " I did." "Just like in the book." "Did you get him to say them crazy words?" "I told you before, it ain't the words, it's the sentiment." "You mean, he didn't even giggle nor nothing at such foolishness?" "He said it was a real solemn occasion." "Like shooting the rapids without a paddle." "No matter what he said, he did it just to get rid of you so as he could clear out." "You know that's so." "And you're lucky he did." "Do you wanna live like a squaw all your life?" "Go on, say anything you like but I'll see him again." "I know I will." "And he ain't got a wife and six kids." "He ain't got a wife at all yet." "Hey, Pierre!" "Someone's coming upriver." "Customer." "Trapper, seems like." "See how that cover bellies up?" "Could be furs." "Thirsty, mister?" "Drier than a grasshopper on a hot griddle." "Well, welcome to our little inn, sir." "My name is Jeb Hawkins, late colonel of the Alabama militia." " Where you bound for?" " Pittsburgh." "Pittsburgh?" "Well." "Looks like he's got a whole canoe of furs, Pop." " Sure enough mountain man." " Indeed." "One of our explorers gonna extend our domain to the far shores of the Pacific." "Well, nothing but the finest for you, sir." "Whiskey?" " Right." " No pepper or rattlesnake heads in this." "Nothing but the pure grain and the sweet kiss of the malt." " Never mind the cup, I'll just take the jug." " Oh, a real mountain man, huh?" " I trust you'll toast our noble banner, sir." " Sure will." "Golly, you're right." "That's real sipping liquor." "Pa, him being a trapper, you suppose he might know what that varmint is we got?" "Well, say, now, he might." "Yes, sir, he just might." "Sir, we caught us a cave-dwelling critter that no man in these parts has seen before." "You know, it'd be right satisfying to having you tell us what it is." "Well, I don't know too much about cave-dwelling varmints." "Just yonder." "Take your jug." "Well, I..." "I don't know." "It's right over here." "You know any sweet-talking gals in Pittsburgh?" "No, no." "Nary a one, yet." "Well, Pop and I are hoping we'll vacation there." "I'll be at the Duquesne House if it ain't burned down." "Hey, there, now, you pretty girl, you sure you got a varmint in here?" "Now, you..." "Do you hear him?" "Huh?" "He breathes loud and fierce." " We keep him in this hole just yonder." "You keep him in there?" "You gotta look a little closer." "Well, he seen the varmint, Pa." " Well done, daughter." " I ain't so sure." "He was hard muscled." "I could feel the blade just skitter along his ribs." "Oh, you just need more practice, that's all." "It's a pity you ain't got the knack your ma had." "Lord rest her soul." "All right, men, lay it on, men." "Come on, come on." "We got more fish to fry." "Down to the island." "Tell Pa them settlers' rafts are coming." "Can't I have this toilet water, Pa?" " Genuine Parisian accent, it says." " How much is it?" "It's only 15 cents." "Fifteen cents?" "Put it back." "You're right, sir." "Absolutely right." "You save the pennies and dollars will grow." "Likely you've growed many a dollar." "Mr. Bedloe, all my life I've been striving to avoid becoming a millionaire." "I think I've succeeded right well." "I've got a little put away in the sock." "It'll stay there." "Well, now, them's my sentiments exactly." "Now, you, sir." "You look like a man of property." "Now, if I was to bet, I'd say you was worth, say, a thousand dollars." " Pretty close to the mark?" " Well, close, maybe." "Colin, how much powder we got left?" " Don't be afraid, now, don't be afraid." "Now, there's women and children here." "You gents wouldn't want us to have to start shooting, now, would you?" "Be of good cheer, folks." "It's in our noble tradition that we conquer the wilderness with nothing but our bare hands and stout hearts." "You can build new rafts and sally forth in the spirit of your forefathers." "Why, you pious old scoundrel." "I'll see you burn." "Americans can't be whipped." "It's him." "I knew he'd come back." "It's him." "Now let us pray." "O Lord we thank thee for our salvation." "We commit the souls of our dead to thy gentle keeping." "We pray for a speedy recovery of our wounded." "And now another matter." "O Lord without consulting with thee we have sent thy way some souls whose evil ways passeth all understanding." "We ask thee humbly to receive them." "Whether you want them or not." "Amen." "Now, it'll be a job but I guess I can patch her up good enough to get to Pittsburgh." " Linus." " Now, Eve let's just not talk any more about it." "Linus, I'm telling you, you don't know your own mind." "Well, maybe so, maybe not." "You know, I ain't saying that you haven't been on my mind some." "I ain't saying that." "But I still went to see the varmint with that pirate girl." "I'll always be going to see the varmint, Eve." "I just ain't cut out to be a farmer or a husband." "Linus, I ain't never bringing up the subject again whether ever I see you or not." "No, it's for the best." "I wish you Godspeed, Eve." "And I ain't said that to anybody for a long time." "I can see rapids ahead, Pa." "White water." "Look." "Look." "Oh, we must've taken the wrong fork." "Let's beach her on this side." "Harvey!" "Rapids!" "Rapids ahead!" "Beach her!" "Beach her!" "Hold her steady." "Rein!" "Pa, we're in the current!" "Get inside, Zeke." "No, I don't wanna." "Straighten her, Pa." "Lilith!" "Hold it steady!" "I can't!" "Go on." "Go on to help Pa." "I'll get it." "Lilith!" "Lilith!" "Lie down!" "Lie down!" "What happened?" "They took the wrong fork of the river and they went over the falls." "Did you happen to hear the name of the family?" "Uh..." "Prescott, I think." "Something like that." "As soon as they're buried decent I'm heading back East on the first boat that comes along." "And if you were in your right mind, you would too." "Oh, Linus." "Would you walk with me a piece, Eve?" "Eve, I..." "Eve, all the time I was paddling down here I was thinking if I found you alive, I'd..." "Would you come to Pittsburgh with me, Eve?" "Oh, Linus." "I'm staying right here." "I ain't moving a foot one way or the other." "Now, would you explain that a little?" "Ma and Pa, they wanted a farm in the West and this is as far as they got." "Seems to me this is where the Lord wanted the farm to be." "But your brother, Sam, he's bad hurt, and winter's coming..." "There's no sense talking about it." "I'm gonna do it." "Eve, you just ain't making much sense." "Well, half the people that come West don't make much sense, I reckon." "All right." "All right." "By golly, you're a strong-minded woman." "I reckon I seen that varmint for the last time." "The westward course was no smoother than that of true love." "Not only the hard hand of nature was against it, but the impediment of war." "Trouble over land smoldered along the Mexican border." "Not all Americans were for war, including Congressman Abe Lincoln of Illinois." "But a war did break out, and in the end  vast new territories came into the Union along with their rich Spanish names:" "Rio Grande, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, El Paso." "And most glittering of all, California  named after a mythical island of pearls and gold in a 15th-century novel." "Here, in 1848  at Sutter's Mill, a man found something he wasn't even looking for  at the bottom of a ditch." "And the cry of his discovery was heard clear across the continent  in Boston, New York, Savannah  and across the oceans in London, Paris, Berlin." "But nowhere was the clamor of gold heard more eagerly than in St. Louis  the busiest fur-trading center in the world  and the noisiest, bawdiest, most uppity town west of New York." "I say there's no more than three." " Six." " Six?" "It's that lace that fooled you." "I say three." "Watch him." "I hear Cleve's an expert on petticoats." "Anyway, you can never prove it." "We're going to be late for that poker game." "Look, I've just stuck you for the most expensive dinner in St. Louis." "I don't mind sticking you a bit deeper." "I'll lay you a hundred it's no less than six." " How will you prove it?" " Go backstage and find out." " lf I go back and check with you." " Fair enough." "Second girl." " Miss Prescott?" "Miss Prescott?" " Later." "It's rather important." "It's always important." "The older they are, the more important it gets." "Miss Prescott, please." "I am Hylan Seabury attorney in the matter of Jonathan Brooks." "He means nothing to you?" "That old goat?" "Well, you must've meant something to him, Miss Prescott." " Why?" " You're included in his will." "Of course, you have to make the trip to California to claim the bequest." "Well, now, I wouldn't go to California if John Jacob Astor left me San Francisco." "I don't think Mr. Astor had holdings there, no." "However, the yield from Mr. Brooks' property is not to be scorned." " Yield of what?" " Gold, Miss Prescott." "Gold." " Gold?" " Precisely." "You own a gold mine, Miss Prescott." "It yielded $3500 the very first week." "Gold mine?" "Well." "Well, I..." "That sweet old goat." "For heavens..." "Well." "This is an unexpected pleasure." " Where's the money?" " Money?" "Money?" "Oh, yes." "You're referring, of course, to our little agreement." "One hundred to start you off and my share of the winnings." "Well, I'm somewhat embarrassed to report that the hundred no longer exists." "That $ 100, I assure you will turn out to be the best investment you have ever made." "I have plans, gentlemen beyond your wildest dreams." "I'm gonna earn you a piece of a gold mine." "Gold mine." "You ain't gonna earn nothing." "You ain't gonna be nothing, you ain't gonna do nothing unless we get that 100 back by the morning." "Grimes, you don't mean that." " You're gonna kill off the golden goose." " Call it what you want, mister." "We'll be waiting." "Independence, Missouri, was the jump-off point for emigrants from everywhere." "Solid, God-fearing families bound for the farmlands of Oregon  and get-rich-quick adventurers racing for the gold of California." "Try it." " You got a wagon, I suppose?" " I can get one." "And a team to pull it?" "I can get everything I need." " You got a husband?" " I'm single, Mr. Morgan." "No traveling companion?" " No, I'm traveling alone." " Not on my wagon train." "Alone and single brings out the deviltry in a man." "Gets them all worked up and they're wild enough already." "I intend to keep to myself, Mr. Morgan." "Oh, woman of your sort?" "One day you'd find yourself in trouble, and there'd be hell to pay just figuring out who." "What did you say, Mr. Morgan?" "Well, now, ain't you the feisty one." "I like spirit in a woman." "Hey, you got a pretty face under that powder too." "And a fine, sturdy body under them clothes, I wager." "There's a woman named Clegg, Aggie Clegg." "Why don't you go see her?" "Thanks." "I told you, no." "I was hoping to make this trip with a husband." "Nearly got one last week." "Look, I hear there's 40 men to every woman in California." " Miss Clegg, I'd be willing to pay you." " I don't need money." "I need a man." "Any man." "Morning, ladies." "Beautiful morning." "Would you, by any chance, happen to be Miss Lily Prescott?" "Not unless you got a big imagination." "Then you must be the lady in question." "Cleve Van Valen, Miss Prescott, at your service." "At your every command from here to California." "Well, thank you." "But whatever you're offering, I don't need." "Perhaps you don't understand." "Yes, I do." "I know a tinhorn when I see one." "Miss Prescott." "I'm offering you an honest day's work for an honest day's pay." "Goodbye, Mr. Van Valen." "Goodbye." "Well, it's been a pleasure to meet you, Miss Clegg." "May I say I have never seen a woman with more beautiful hair." "What a prize catch it'll make hanging from the waist of an Indian." "Beauty alone in the wilderness, and who's to protect you?" "No one." "Not one person won't be looking after himself." "Well..." "Good day, ladies." "Good day." "Nobody ever said that to me before." "What?" "That I had such..." "Such beautiful hair." "You know something?" "I got a hunch you're gonna draw men like fish to the bait." "Maybe I can catch one of them while they swim by." "You got yourself a partner." "Thank you." "How's it, men?" "It's all clear through here." "Look for a little mudhole up through the next pocket." "How far?" "Oh, maybe half a quarter." "Well, thanks." "Looks a little higher up that ridge." "There's a water hole up there about half a mile." "Let's head for it." "Water hole about a half a mile ahead." "Hey, you're driving." "I was raised on a farm." "Water hole about a half a mile ahead." "Hey, Aggie?" " Can you use these?" "Yeah, sure." "Thanks." "Ladies." "At your service." "I thought we'd gotten rid of you." "Well, I just couldn't bear to think of you two making this trip without my help." "If I was to hear later on that something happened to you, I'd never forgive myself." "You came 100 miles alone?" "Well, I had no way of counting the miles, Mr. Morgan, but I'll take your word for it." "Well, you've got another 100, mister." "Going back." "I told you, when a wagon breaks down, I want men who can fix it not bet how long it'll take." "You don't mean you'll turn me out?" "Pass me adrift at the mercy of savage Indians?" "If you don't get moving, I'll cast you adrift..." "Uh-uh-uh." "I appeal to your sporting instinct, sir." "I'm prepared to wager you that I stay with this train." " Well, you got a wager." " Wait a minute, wait a minute." "The fact is, I hired this man." "We'll put up his stake." "Is that right, Miss Prescott?" "If Miss Clegg says so." "Ma'am I'll be forever grateful." "Now, I'll unpack my gear." "Agatha, have you gone crazy?" "He says he's a man wanting to do an honest day's work." "And he'll do it." "I can promise you that." "Hey, you men on that last wagon, keep up that slack." "Keep it up." "Get that team moving." "Keep them moving there." "Don't let those lines sag." "Keep them up." "Keep them up." "Keep those teams moving." "Keep them moving." "Don't let those lines sag." "You, on that middle team, keep them moving." "Get in there." "Over here, Pa." "Get in there." "Get in there." "Get in there, mule." "I'm just overwhelmed by all this attention, Miss Prescott." "I want to confess I have lied about why I wanted to work for you." "I know." "The real reason is, of course, that I'm in love with you." "No." "It's the truth." "From the first moment I saw you, I've known that I couldn't live without you." "Well, I'd hate to be the cause of your death, Mr. Van Valen." "I don't speak lightly, Miss Prescott." "I'm prepared to assume the responsibilities of a faithful husband." "Oh, and are you ready to assume the responsibilities of my property too, Mr. Van Valen?" "Really?" "What kind of property?" "Gold, Mr. Van Valen." "Gold by the ton, from what I understand." "Bright, yellow, shiny gold." "Why, I had no idea." " I'm sure you hadn't." " Miss Prescott, I really mean..." "Here comes Agatha." "If you must propose to somebody I suggest you get on your knees to her." "Besides, she has beautiful hair." "Look at them." "Think they was getting ready to bury somebody." "Ain't we worn down enough as it is?" "Well, let's wake them up." "Listen, everybody." "That's the spirit!" "That's the way to feel!" "Oh, hiya, Mr. Morgan!" "Aggie." "For lunch." "Thanks." "Nice nest of fish." "What is it, Mr. Morgan?" "Miss Prescott, I've been thinking." "Oh?" "Wet or dry, you're the handsomest woman I ever did see." "Spirit and a fine, sturdy body." "It's a noble combination, Miss Prescott." "Why, for you, childbearing would come as easy as rolling off a log." "Well, I think I'd rather roll off a log, Mr. Morgan." "Ma'am, I'm telling you, you got the build for it." "I want you for my wife." "I've got a cattle ranch just below the Merced." "I'll be settling down there, fit and proper." "I'm sure you're very fit and proper, Mr. Morgan." "Well, then you just couldn't do no better than marrying me." "Why, we'd have ourselves a fine family in no time at all." "I believe that." "I'm sorry, Mr. Morgan but I can't accept your proposal." "Why not?" "Well, a woman likes to hear something a little more inviting." "Well, ain't that what I've been doing?" "Inviting you?" "Inviting you to share my life, Miss Prescott." "I'm sorry, Mr. Morgan." "It's something else, ain't it?" "Must be something else nagging at you." "Well I don't aim to let it stop me, Miss Prescott." "You can count on that." "What did he want?" "Children." "Children?" "Well, I'll be..." "Why didn't he come shopping at the right store?" " I'll take a look." " Well." "Now, gentlemen, are we pikers?" "I'm gonna see and I'm gonna raise this fine pistol London-made and loaded for bear." "I'll take part of that bet." "I told you I wouldn't stand for you fleecing any..." "Cheyennes." "There's too many to fight." "We'll have to run for it." "You can't outrun them with wagons." "The minute you get moving, cut your teams loose." " Have you gone crazy?" " Go on, get moving." "Chances are they want our stock more than us." "Now, you're a gambler, ain't you?" "All right, let's get moving." "Keep them closed up there." "I don't know how to unhook them." "Cleve, watch out!" "Cleve!" "Joe, pick me up." "We'll be moving at daybreak." "I'll take a few men, see if we can find him." "Give him a decent, Christian burial." "Someone's coming!" "Someone's coming!" "Well, I can let you have this rig for a dollar a day, and I'll give you a good team." " Pick it up in the morning." " That'll be fine." "Could you tell me the way to the Brooks claim?" "Well, the claims are down by the river." " Which road should I take?" " Only one road." "Along the river." " Thank you." " Sure welcome." "We're looking for a Mr. Huggins." "You found him." "This is Miss Lilith Prescott." "I figured." "They told me you was a real looker." "Yup." "It's all here for you." "Just the way Mr. Brooks staked it out." "Must've had 20 men working on it." "Well, where are they now?" "Who's digging the gold?" "Gold?" "I ain't never seen a better grade since I come here with Millie." "It was just a pocket, though." "The whole shebang, nothing but a pocket." "Oh, we cleared 4200 before it played out." "Now, about that 4200..." "Mr. Brooks, he spent three before his heart give out." "I put up 600 for a brass-handled casket." "I figure the rest you owe me for sitting on your claim." "Oh, miss, I mean, that's only fair, ain't it?" "I mean, wouldn't you...?" "Funny pair, all right." "How about you boys?" "Come and see the brand-new attraction." "It's exciting and sensational." "Step right in, gentlemen." "Miss Prescott?" "Hello, Mr. Morgan." "I'd invite you in, but it's a little cramped." "This is no life for a fine woman like you." "I heard your mine was played out." "But where's your fancy friend?" "Cleve?" "Last I heard, he was in Hangtown." "You mean that no-good went off and left you?" "He went off and left me." "But I don't agree that he's no good." "Cleve is Cleve, that's all." "You're a perplexing woman, Miss Prescott." "When a skunk needs killing well, it ain't enough just to say a skunk's a skunk." "Mr. Morgan all my life I've wanted to marry a rich husband." "Can I blame Cleve for wanting to marry a rich wife?" "Both of us may have been born for the poorhouse but we're not the kind to like it." "Do you believe all this you've been saying, or is it just words?" "Now, tell me the truth." "The truth is Cleve and I couldn't live alone just on love." "Not for five minutes." "Then you've answered the question I've been asking for better than 2000 miles." "I got the biggest ranch you ever did see." "You can't ride across it in a day." "That land's gonna mean money sooner than you think." "You want a rich husband you're looking at him." "There ain't a blessed thing you have to do except mind the kids." "I'm sorry." "Not now." "Not ever." "What a waste." "Someone put together like you." "Aggie." "Those who struck it rich wanted all the pleasures that money could buy." "And there were plenty to sell to them." "Even the Sacramento riverboats took on luxury goods." "I'll see it." "It's up to you." "Betting?" "What's the matter with you?" " I'm checking out." " Checking out?" "What's the matter with him?" "Lily, I got to talk to you." "I found myself throwing in a winning hand." "Well, I just never thought I'd do that for any girl." "Lily." "How'd you like to hook up with a no-good gambler?" "Oh, hon, we are on our way." "I got $ 1200 right here." " What'll we do, open a gambling house?" " No." "A married man should spend his evenings at home." "Then we'll open a music hall in San Francisco." " No." " I can still sing and dance." "No." "A married woman should spend her evenings at home." " But we can't sit at home on $ 1200 for..." " Lily." "Have you seen San Francisco?" "It's ugly, and it's small, and it's full of fleas." "And it burns down about every five minutes but each time they keep on rebuilding it a little bigger and better than before." "It's alive and kicking and nothing can stop it." "And it makes you wanna build something too." "A railroad." "A steamship line." "Something to help the baby grow." "Cleve, on $ 1200?" "We could start out with a wagon or a rowboat." "With the help of the devil, I'll bet we make it."